Kurt R.A. Giambastiani

When the going gets tough, the tough get cooking…at least in my case.

Here’s a surprisingly easy recipe for something you may never thought you could make at home: Hum bao (aka hum-bow, aka humbow, aka “one of those big white steamed buns with savory filling you grab off the cart at the dim-sum place”).

If there’s one thing I’d stress for this recipe, it’s that you should knead the dough by hand, not with your mixer or food processor. I have two reasons.

My first reason is practical. Using a machine will overwork the dough and make it chewier than it should be when it steams up.

My second reason is personal. Working the dough by hand is good for you. It connects you to the food you’re preparing, and is an experience to be savored as you feel the dough change from crumbly to tough to pliable. You feel the dough fighting you, resisting you until, through your slow persistence, it begins to relax, agreeing to become what you want it to become.

If you say it’s faster with a machine, I’d say no, it isn’t. You’d have to set up the machine, clean it, and stow it away again. And even if that wasn’t true, if you can’t find the 8-10 minutes to spend on the task of kneading the dough, you probably don’t love cooking enough.

Just sayin’.

Chicken Hum Bao

8 steamed buns

Ingredients

For the buns:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tsp dried yeast
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 2 tsp chicken fat (or other cooking oil)
• 1/2 cup minced mushrooms (1/8-inch thick pieces)
• 1/2 pound minced chicken meat (not ground, chopped very fine)
• 1 large clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice
• 1/2 tsp Aleppo  pepper flakes (or other unsmoked chili)
• 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp anchovy paste
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/3 cup minced baby arugula
• 8 – 4-inch squares of wax paper or parchment paper

Procedure

• Place the flour in a bowl
• In a small bowl or cup, mix the water, yeast, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk with a fork to dissolve and mix.
• Add yeast mixture to the flour and fold with a wooden spoon until it starts to hold together
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 8-10 minutes (don’t use a machine, as this will overwork the dough)
• Place dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, cover that with a tea towel, and set it aside in warm, draft-free place to rise for an hour or so (until it doubles in size)
• In a large skillet over a medium-high heat, heat the chicken fat (or oil)
• Add the mushrooms and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until they soften and begin to brown
• Add the chicken and spread it out; let it cook undisturbed until it starts to brown, then sauté until cooked through
• Add the garlic, brown sugar, ginger, Chinese five-spice, and Aleppo pepper flakes; mix well and cook until heated through
• Add the Hoisin sauce, anchovy paste, soy sauce, and sesame oil; mix well and cook until heated through
• Take off the heat, and add in the baby arugula; mix well to distribute
• Set the filling aside to cool.
• Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch it down, rolling it into a long cylinder; divide the dough into 8 equal  pieces
• For each piece, flatten the piece of dough with your hands into a 4-inch diameter circle, leaving it a bit thicker in the middle
• Take the circle of dough into the palm of your hand and spoon in 1-2 tbsp of the filling mixture
• Fold the edges inward and pinch them together to close the dough; it will be a bit flattened out, so turn it over in your hand and reshape it into a ball
• Place the bun, sealed side down, on a piece of the wax/parchment paper
• Score an “X” into the top of the bun, but don’t cut all the way through to the filling
• Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling
• Place the buns in bamboo steamers leaving room for them to expand; about 4 per steamer works best
• Steam for 12 minutes
• Serve warm, with a soy sauce/sesame oil mixture or chili oil

Notes

• You can devise any filling you like, using pork, beef, or veggies
• If you don’t have bamboo steamers, use a vegetable steamer and steam them in batches; cover the first batch with plastic wrap while you cook the second batch
• Remember to advise your guests about the piece of wax/parchment paper on the bottom!