Steamed Buns · FFET10187
Hua Juan (steamed flower roll)
A steamed yeast roll brushed with scallion oil, folded, cut into strips and twisted into a flower shape, a variation of the steamed bun mantou.
A small round white porcelain bowl holds white steamed rolls, their folded strips twisted into flower shapes and coated with glistening scallion oil and chopped green scallion, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the bowl.
Leavened dough steamed into plain buns, filled buns and rolls.
Hua juan is a steamed wheat roll made by rolling out yeast dough, brushing it with scallion oil, folding it, cutting it into strips and twisting them into a flower shape. It is like mantou but rolled into a spiral, and may be slightly sweet or savory. In a May 21, 2020, account, it is a twisted-layer variation of mantou, usually with scallion and sometimes with meat. The available material gives no place or date of origin.
What
Hua juan is a steamed wheat roll in which the dough is rolled into a spiral or twisted into a knot, usually with scallion and oil between the layers. It is like mantou, may be slightly sweet or savory, and is also called yun si juan.1,2,3
When
The available material, including the 2020 article, gives no place or year of origin for hua juan. It is a variation of mantou and belongs to the same family of steamed wheat foods.1,2
Where
In a 2020 account, hua juan is a popular staple across China. The available material names no place of origin, and this entry does not name one.1,2,3
How
Risen dough is rolled out, brushed with scallion oil, folded and cut into strips. The strips are stacked in pairs, pressed with a chopstick and twisted into a flower shape, rested about 10 minutes and steamed about 15 minutes. Another method also steams for 15 minutes and rests the rolls 10 minutes afterward, with five-spice powder and salt in the filling.2,3
Impact and influence
Variants include sesame-paste hua juan and salt-and-pepper hua juan.1
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is scallion hua juan as I make it at home, a simplified home version: I knead the dough by hand and use no stand mixer. The amounts and method mainly follow one recipe by a named author, with 600 g of flour, 320 ml of water, 5 g of yeast and 3 g of baking powder, making 12 rolls steamed for 15 minutes. Another recipe by a named author is smaller, makes 8 rolls, adds five-spice powder to the filling and kneads the dough 20 minutes in a stand mixer, and I did not follow it. The amount of salt and the kneading time are my own choices at home.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour 600 g
- Lukewarm water 320 ml
- Dry yeast 5 g
- Baking powder 3 g
- Scallions 4, chopped
- Cooking oil 6 tablespoons, for the scallion oil
- Salt 1 teaspoon, stirred into the scallion oil; this amount is my own choice
Steps
- Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Mix the flour and baking powder, pour in the yeast water and bring it together into a dough, then knead until the surface is smooth, which takes me about 10 minutes by hand.
- Cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes, as in that recipe, until it has clearly swelled.
- While the dough rises, make the scallion oil: heat the 6 tablespoons of oil with the scallions over low heat, take it off the heat as soon as the scallions just turn golden, and stir in the salt. The oil is very hot, so take care and do not let it scorch.
- Roll the dough into a large rectangle, brush it evenly with scallion oil, fold it over and cut it into 24 strips.
- Stack the strips in pairs, press a chopstick along the middle, stretch and twist the ends, then pinch them together and tuck them underneath to make 12 rolls.
- Set them in a steamer with space between them and rest them for about 10 minutes, as in that recipe.
- Start timing once the water boils and steam over high heat for 15 minutes, which both recipes give. Turn off the heat and leave the lid on for about 10 more minutes before lifting it.
Tips
- After twisting, I pinch the ends firmly and tuck them underneath so the rolls do not come apart in the steamer; this is my own way.
- The scallion oil keeps cooking from its own heat after it comes off the burner, so I stop when the scallions have just turned golden; this is my own way.
Allergens: wheat