Veganuary might be so 2020, but this year, rather than choosing a set diet, lots of us are looking for something a bit more flexible. Hello, plant-based!
'Plant-based' isn't strictly vegetarian or vegan; instead, we're going with alternatives to some of our more animal-based staples. Think vegan feta in a salad, meat-free chicken nuggets, or even just switching out butter for some olive oil.
Here at Guild, we're all about variety - and that goes for celebrations too! This week is Lunar New Year, so here's our recipe for fluffy vegetable-packed bao. Perfect for sharing, they're easy to adapt to any diet. We've made ours vegan-friendly, but you can use any fillings that take your fancy.
Vegetable Steamed Buns
For the bao:
240g white flour
1 tsp yeast
3 tbsp sugar
0.5 tsp salt
170ml water
For the filling:
1 carrot, diced
80g Chinese cabbage, shredded
70g glass noodles, cooked
3 chestnut mushrooms, diced
40g beansprouts
2cm ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
Salt to taste
2 spring onions, sliced thinly
1) Mix together the water, sugar, and yeast, then leave it on the side until it's frothy.
2) Put the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of it, then add the yeast mixture a little at a time, stirring with a chopstick (or spoon). Knead it until it forms a ball, then let it rest for one hour.
3) In the meantime, add the oil to a pan. Sauté the mushrooms, carrot, and beansprouts together.
4) Cut the glass noodles into short lengths, between 2cm and 4cm.
5) Put the glass noodles, sauteed vegetables, cabbage, spring onions, garlic, and ginger into a large bowl. Season with the vegetarian oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
6) Roll the dough into a cylinder, and cut it into eight even pieces. Roll each piece into a circle, then put two tablespoons of filling in the middle. Pinch the dough shut, making sure it is tightly closed.
7) Leave the buns to prove for another half hour under a damp tea towel.
8) Line a bamboo steamer with parchment paper. Put the proved buns into the steamer, making sure they're not too close together.
9) Steam the buns for ten minutes. After ten minutes, turn off the heat, but don't take the lid off the steamer. Leave the buns for another five minutes.
10) Serve immediately.
Gong xi fa cai!

Comments