watch out, eddie huang!

i finally convinced mum to bring pork into our house. 

i was going through withdrawal... being 300 miles away from baohaus is a lot harder than it looks!

so mum and i pretended to be eddie and made our own baos.

we made the steamed buns that we make during our annual dumplings of the world festival {recipe below}

and instead of forming them into the old school ball shape, 

we made the taco thingies that are so much more conducive to adding cucumbers and cilantro {no crushed peanuts here, sadly. mum is allergic}

i wasn't lucky enough to score pork belly-mum got the leanest loin she could find-but beggars can't be choosers.

the result was unbelievable goodness. maybe the best thing mum and i have ever made.

they were so doughy and sweet and comforting! the kind of comfort you can only get from mum's home-cooking. 

and pork. 

pork, how i've missed you.

these were almost better as good as baohaus' :-)

george gershwin tried to get in on the fun but nobody would help him fill a bun :-(

.....................

i don't usually post recipes, but it would have been cruel of me to keep this from you:

steamed buns!!

adapted from grace wiertz young's recipe 

{i don't know who grace is, but this recipe has been in my family since i was two and only wanted to fill them with kraft cheese}

ingredients:

1 package yeast

3/4 cup warm water {110 degrees}

4 cups flour

1/4 cup warm milk {110 degrees}

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup veggie shortening + additional shortening for greasing the middle of the buns

clues:

dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water in a small bowl until it bubbles

put 3 cups of flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center

add the yeast mixture, remaining 1/2 cup warm water, 1/4 cup of shortening, the milk, and sugar --> stir to combine

add remaining cup of flour in fourths until a dough forms and is no longer sticky

knead for 5 minutes on a floured surface

put the dough in a bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rise for 2 hours

punch down the dough, knead for 2 or 3 minutes

melt the additional shortening in the microwave

divide dough it into 12 equal pieces and shape into flat oval-shaped circles on top of individual squares of wax paper

brush the top of the circles with shortening and fold them in half

let rise for half an hour

steam in a bamboo or metal steamer for 10-15 minutes

and...

voila! 

fill them with whatever you want! if you're lucky, your mum will buy you pork belly. 

if not, other kinds of meat will do...

top them with cukes, cilantro, and crushed peanuts

dip them in soy sauce and sriracha!

if you don't make these, you are seriously a dufus.

xoxo

yeh