Panda Baozi 熊猫包子

At first i was planning to make panda cartoon character bread buns, but last minutes decided to change it to baozi as baozi look closer to real panda which has two colours, white and black.

 Nowadays i try to avoid using shortening in baozi dough. I just use vegetable oil like corn oil and also replace water with fresh milk (inspired from bread that using milk) as to make it soft.

updated on 25 Aug 2015- This panda baozi turned out quite dry the next day (due to no shortening was added), so try to consume within the same day or steam it again .

Panda Baozi 熊猫包子

*makes 8 baozi

For the baozi

300g low protein flour or cake flour (I use Japanese cake flour)

1tsp instant yeast

40g caster sugar

1/4tsp salt

20g corn oil

170g fresh milk

1tsp Japanese charcoal powder

240g red bean paste (I use homemade), weight 30g each and roll into ball

Method

1. Add all baozi ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine well. Knead till dough become smooth and no sticky to hands.

2. Remove 70g plain dough and add charcoal powder, knead till smooth. Cover both dough with damp cloth and rest for 60mins.

3. Transfer plain dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a while, divide into 8 portions and shape into ball.

4. Flatten and roll out the dough into a circle. Place red bean ball onto the center, wrap and pleat up the sides and seal.

8. Place the baozi (pleat area face down) onto a piece of greaseproof paper.

9. Roll charcoal dough into thin sheet, use a round 3cm cutter , cut two circle dish. Then cut each circle into half, stick them on the plain dough as eyes and ears. Pinch a small dough, place at the centre as for nose (you can brush water if it can’t stick). Place them on the steaming pan. Cover with a piece of damp cloth and let rise for another 10mins.

9. Steam the baozi under rapidly boiling water on high heat for 15mins.

10. Remove from steamer and serve, serve warm.

Recipe by Sonia a.k.a Nasi Lemak Lover

This post is linked to the Best Recipes for Everyone August 2015 Event (Theme: Dim Sum) organised by Fion （XuanHom's Mum Kitchen Diary) and hosted by May (厨苑食谱）