Steamed Buns · FFET10270
Dousha bao (red bean paste bun)
A soft steamed yeast bun around sweet red bean paste, eaten as a snack or at breakfast.
A round white porcelain plate holds soft steamed yeast buns made with milk, their white skins cut open to reveal the dark red bean paste filling enclosed within, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the plate.
Leavened dough steamed into plain buns, filled buns and rolls.
Dousha bao is a steamed yeast bun filled with sweet red bean paste, eaten as a snack and at breakfast. It is called doubao in the north and dousha bao in the south; a childhood recollection places it at street vendors in Shanghai. No date or place of origin has been established for this bun itself.
What
Dousha bao is a soft steamed yeast bun with a filling of sweet red bean paste, eaten as a snack or at breakfast.2,3,4,5
When
By the Qing, baozi had taken its modern meaning as a filled bun, but this concerns the broader baozi family; no date has been established for dousha bao itself.2
Where
It is eaten across China, called doubao in the north and dousha bao in the south. It is also associated with Beijing and Tianjin, though details of that connection and its place of origin remain unclear.1,3,4,5
How
A yeast dough is proofed, wrapped around red bean paste, pinched shut, given a short second proof and steamed for 13 to 15 minutes, then rested for a few minutes before the lid is lifted.3,4,5
Why
A childhood recollection places these buns at street vendors in Shanghai; at breakfast, they can be served with soy milk or congee.3,4,5
Impact and influence
3 blog recipes provide methods for steaming these buns at home, with 1 starting from soaking red beans and cooking the paste.3,4,5
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is my simplified home version of dousha bao, using ready-made red bean paste instead of cooking the beans from scratch. The amounts for the dough and the filling and the proofing and steaming times follow the former recipe, by a named author of a family food blog. The latter recipe, from another recipe blog, proofs just once, starts the buns in cold water and cooks the paste from red beans; I did not follow it and borrowed just its kneading time of about 10 minutes. The conversions between cups and grams are mine. The way I check that it is done is my own.
Ingredients
- Yeast 1 teaspoon
- Sugar for the yeast 1 teaspoon
- Lukewarm water 1/4 cup, about 60 ml
- All-purpose flour 1 2/3 cups, about 210 g
- Powdered sugar 3 tablespoons
- Salt 1/4 teaspoon
- Lukewarm milk 1/3 cup, about 80 ml
- Sweet red bean paste 200 g, divided into 8 balls of 25 g each
Steps
- Stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar into the lukewarm water and leave until foamy (the method comes from the former recipe).
- Mix the flour, powdered sugar and salt, pour in the yeast water and the lukewarm milk and knead into a smooth dough, about 10 minutes (the time comes from the latter recipe).
- Cover with a damp cloth and proof in a warm spot for 1 hour (from the former recipe).
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces of about 50 g each. Roll the red bean paste into 8 balls of 25 g.
- Flatten each piece of dough, wrap it around a bean paste ball and pinch the seam shut. Set it seam side down on a small square of parchment paper.
- Put the buns in the steamer well apart, cover, and let them rise a second time in the steamer for 30 minutes (from the former recipe).
- Bring the water to a boil, switch to medium-high heat and steam for 15 minutes (the time comes from the former recipe). Turn off the heat and rest 5 minutes before lifting the lid, which both recipes do. I break one open, and it is done when the dough is cooked through and the paste is hot.
Tips
- I set each bun on parchment paper, so it lifts off easily and does not stick to the steamer.
- The author of the latter recipe suggests serving the buns at breakfast with soy milk or congee.
Allergens: wheat, milk