How to Make Naturally Colored Rainbow Buns at Home, Super Simple

How to make Multicolored Steamed Buns

• 1

  Creating the dough color

  After purchasing, wash the pandan leaves thoroughly and briefly blanch them in boiling water for a nice color. Then, cut the pandan leaves into short segments and blend them with 40ml of water. Next, strain this mixture through a sieve to collect the green juice.

  To achieve a beautiful bright yellow color for the buns, mix 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder with 40ml of water.

  For the blue color, soak 5 butterfly pea flowers in 40ml of boiling water or microwave them for one minute. After that, strain this mixture to obtain the cooled concentrated juice.

  Mix 3 teaspoons of gac fruit pulp with 40ml of boiling water, then strain to collect the red juice while discarding the seeds.

  You can use 20ml of coconut milk or 20ml of fresh milk to create a white color for the buns.

  Allow the four colored mixtures to sit for about 10 minutes to let the color settle.

  After that, remove the clear water from the top, collecting 20ml of concentrated juice for each color, so that when making the buns, you will have beautiful, vibrant colors that are visually appealing.

  

  

  

  
• 2

  Prepare the dough

  You mix 150ml of fresh milk with 100gr of sugar, 10gr of yeast, and stir until dissolved. Then, you let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast. When the yeast expands and the mixture forms lumps like crab paste, it’s ready.

  Note: If the yeast does not expand into lumps, it means the yeast is spoiled, and you need to redo it with new yeast.

  Next, you prepare 5 large bowls, then brush 2ml of cooking oil on the bottom of each bowl. After that, add 100gr of flour and 10gr of cornstarch to each oiled bowl.

  Then, you divide the activated milk-yeast mixture into 5 equal parts and add it to each bowl. After that, add 20ml of food coloring (each bowl a different color). You knead the dough by hand until you get a soft, smooth dough that feels slightly sticky to the touch.

  Finally, you cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1 – 2 hours at room temperature until the dough doubles in size.

  After the dough has risen for the sufficient time, you take it out and knead for another 5 minutes to release all the air, then divide it into equal portions.

  

  

  

  
• 3

  Shaping the dumplings

  To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, you can apply a layer of cooking oil on your hands before shaping each piece of dough.

  For the filling, depending on your taste, you can make a savory filling (pork + quail eggs + wood ear mushrooms + shiitake mushrooms + vermicelli) or a vegetarian filling (mung beans, taro).

  When shaping the dumplings, each piece of dough you finish must be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent the dumplings from drying out.

  After shaping, continue to let the dough rise for 20 minutes before steaming the dumplings.

  

  

  
• 4

  Steaming the dumplings

  Before steaming, line the bottom of the steamer with parchment paper or banana leaves to prevent the dumplings from sticking to the pot.

  Heat the steamer by boiling 500ml of water before placing the dumplings inside. The lid of the steamer should also be covered with a towel to prevent steam from dripping onto the dumplings.

  Once the water is boiling, place the dumpling steamer over medium heat. The appropriate steaming time for dumplings without filling is 10 minutes, and for dumplings with filling is 15 minutes.

  When the dumplings are fully steamed, turn off the heat and leave them on the stove. After 5 minutes, you can slightly open the lid to avoid flattening the dumplings.

  
• 5

  Final Product

  The final product is the round, soft, and fluffy bao buns, colorful and visually appealing, enticing to the taste buds.

  So why wait any longer? Let’s head to the kitchen to make these colorful bao buns right away. Enjoy this dish with friends!