Chicken & Egg Big Bao (鸡球大包) | Chinese Cooking Demystified

Cantonese Dai Bao! An excellent, fluffy baozi that's meant to be an entire meal in one hand.

0:00 - Why make a Bao big?
1:17 - Fillings
2:57 - Dough overview
3:30 - 1 Make a Levain
3:42 - 2 Bulk Ferment
4:05 - 3 Make the Main Dough
4:38 - 4 Knead, then Relax
5:35 - 5 Smooth the dough
5:55 - 6 Portion and Shape
6:24 - 7 Make the wrapper
6:49 - 8 Wrap
7:30 - 9 Proof and Steam
7:53 - Alternative Big Bao dough types?

FILLINGS

* Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇), 2

* Cantonese Lap Cheong sausage (粤式腊肠), 1/2 sausage

* Hard boiled eggs, 1/2 to 1 egg per Baozi (seven minute eggs)

* Chicken thigh, 1/2. Cut into 1 inch cubes.

* Marinade for the chicken: 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp white pepper (白胡椒粉), 1/2 tsp cornstarch (生粉), 1/2 tsp oyster sauce (耗油), 1/2 tsp liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine, 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil (麻油)

* Pork leg/ham (后腿肉) -or- 80/20 minced pork, 150g.

* Marinade for the pork: 1/8 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/8 tsp soy sauce (生抽), 1/8 tsp white pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/2 tsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tbsp mushroom soaking liquid, 1/2 tsp oil (preferably peanut)

PROCESS, FILLINGS

First soak the dried mushrooms in a bit of hot, boiled water. These will take about a half hour or so to reconstitute, so we can prepare some of the other fillings while we're waiting (alternatively, you could also do an overnight soak in cool water).

During that time, we can boil the eggs. Bog standard hard boiled eggs, just toss the eggs in a pot with cool water with the lid on and bring it all up to a boil. Once it's at a rapid boil, swap your flame down to medium/medium high and let it boil for seven minutes. Rinse, then peel.

Chop your chicken thigh into cubes, then mix it with all the marinade ingredients except for the sesame oil. By this time, your shiitake mushrooms should be soft and pliable. Mince them, then mix them into the chicken along with the toasted sesame oil.

For the pork, meanwhile, whether you use hand minced or pre-ground depends on how obsessive you want to be. Pre-ground can sometimes be a bit more oily as the fat can easily render off during steaming. If hand mincing, separate out the fat, finely dice it and set it aside - we'll add that back at the end. Hand mince the lean using a cleaver, or preferably two - periodically folding the pork over itself as you chop. Once pasty, move to a bowl and mix in all the marinade ingredients minus the oil. Stir thoroughly, about a minute. Add back the fat, coat with the oil, and mix.

INGREDIENTS, DOUGH

Levain:

* Cake flour (低筋面粉), 100g
* Water, 48g
* Instant yeast, 1g

Final dough:

* Cake flour, 100g
* Water, 48g
* Sugar, 24g
* Instant yeast, 1g
* Baking powder, 1 tsp (2g)
* Lard, 10g (to be added later in the process)

In baker's percentages:

Ingredient | Levain % + Final Dough % = Total %

Cake flour | 50 + 50 = 100.00%
Water | 24 + 24 = 48%
Sugar | 0 + 12 = 12%
Lard | 0 + 5 = 5%
Instant Yeast | 0.5 + 0.5 = 1%
Baking Powder | 0 + 1 = 1%

PROCESS, DOUGH

Mix the ingredients to make the levain and form it into a rough ball. Let it sit for at least three hours - if you are in a cooler climate, you might need to let it go for four or five. Alternatively, you can let it go overnight in the fridge, and let it ferment at room temperature for ~1 hour.

Then, to make the main dough, mix both the yeast and the sugar into separate bowls of water (in the video, we opted to dissolve the sugar into 30g of water, the yeast into 18g). Mix the baking powder in with your flour. Add the flour/baking powder mixture to your levain, followed by the yeast water and sugar water mixtures. Form into a rough ball.

Knead for about six minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and playdough-like. May take a bit longer or a bit shorter. Add in the lard, knead for another two minutes until completely combined. Rest for 30 minutes.

Pass the dough through a pasta maker on the widest setting. Fold it in half, then pass it through again. Repeat this process seven times in total. Then, roll the smooth sheet tightly into a log, and portion into three 110g baos.

Shape each portion into balls according to 6:02 in the video, then turn into wrappers ala 6:27. Then, wrap up your three big baozi (6:57). Place on a piece of parchment paper, and proof the baozi in a steamer over ~35C water for 15 minutes. Steam for 20 minutes.

These keep very well in the fridge and freezer. No need to thaw. If reheating, steam over some parchment some parchment paper - 5 minutes if coming from the fridge, 25 minutes if coming from the freezer.

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Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg