Supreme Big Pau (Dai Pau)

I have been wanting to make this pau for the longest of time, eversince I saw the recipe at Jo's website. Since I still had a packet of Vietnamese "steamed bun flour", I made the skin using that flour rather than following Jo's recipe. And, hm.. my paus are upside down :) I had the pinched side at the bottom instead of the top.



Vietnamese Steamed Buns Cake flour




Dough:
1 packet (397 g) Steamed Buns Cake flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cooking oil

Filling:
3 hard boiled eggs, quartered
6 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, halved
12 slices Vietnamese sausage
Chinese BBQ pork (red), chopped
Chinese crispy skinned BBQ pork, chopped
2 stalks of spring onions, diced
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp wine
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
white pepper to taste
1 cm ginger, chopped finely
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped finaly

GladBake paper for lining

Method:
Cut small pieces (abt 8x8 cm square) of GladBake.

Skin: Mix the flour with milk and sugar, knead dough well for 10 minutes, then add cooking oil and continue kneading until oil is well incorporated into the dough. Leave aside for 30 mins - 1 hr.

Filling: Mix the meat with the spring onions, oyster sauce, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch and white pepper. Fry the chopped garlic and ginger in the fat from the crispy skinned BBQ pork. When the garlic is nicely browned and aromatic, add the meat mixture and continue cooking until the sauce is thickened. Set the meat aside to cool.

Making the pau: Divide the dough into 12 portions. Shape each portion into a small ball, then roll the ball into a small, flat cirle. Using a rolling pin, roll the edges thinner than the centre of the cirle (or pinch using your fingers). Put a piece each of the egg, mushroom and sausage and the rest of the meat mixture in the centre of the circle and pinch the edges together to enclose the filling. Put the pau on the Glad Bake. Continue with the rest of the dough. To steam the buns, fill th steamer with water and let it boil. Add 2 tbsp vinegar into the water to whiten the buns. Steamed for about 15 minutes.

Serves 12