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Preparation
4 hours
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Cooking
1 hour 30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
The animal-shaped buns are both cute and chewy, combined with a rich and fragrant egg milk filling. Surely this bun dish will please many people, especially little kids. Today, let’s join Điện Máy XANH in the kitchen and make these buns right away!
Ingredients for Animal-shaped Buns For 8 pieces
All-purpose flour 260 gr Starch 20 gr (starch) Instant yeast 3 gr Baking powder 4 gr (baking powder) Fresh milk 200 gr (unsweetened) Warm milk 160 ml (unsweetened) Unsalted butter 20 gr Sugar 56 gr Chicken eggs 2 pieces Vanilla extract 4 ml Cooking oil 10 gr Chocolate sauce 10 ml
How to choose good chicken eggs
- To buy satisfactory industrial chicken eggs, you should choose those without cracks or black spots on the shell. If the eggs have been stored for a long time, the shell will appear paler.
- As for free-range chicken eggs, the shell color may be somewhat paler, even slightly white, but they are still very delicious and nutritious.
- You can use your hand to feel the surface of the eggshell; if the surface is rough and slightly textured, it’s fresh chicken eggs, while a smooth surface indicates that the egg has been stored for quite a while.
What is Starch?
- Starch is a common ingredient found in many dishes. It is the carbohydrate produced from various plant sources such as cassava roots and stems, wheat, corn, potatoes,…
- Currently, there are several common starches available on the market, such as wheat flour, corn starch, tapioca starch, potato starch, and glutinous rice flour.
What is All-Purpose Flour?
- All-purpose flour is one of the main ingredients in baked goods, helping to create texture and stability for the baked products.
- All-purpose flour is made from soft winter wheat and hard spring wheat. Therefore, this type of flour contains a relatively high protein content, ranging from about 10% to 12%.
Tools Needed
How to make animal-shaped buns
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Prepare eggs
After purchasing the eggs, wash them thoroughly and separate 2 egg whites and 2 egg yolks into separate bowls. Next, add 30g of sugar to the egg yolks and use a whisk to gently beat until the sugar dissolves.
Tip: If you do not use eggs, you can replace them with 100g of steamed sweet potato and mash it well!
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Make the filling
To make the filling, place a pot on the stove and add 20g of unsalted butter along with 200g of fresh milk, then stir gently for about 3 – 5 minutes over low heat until the butter melts and blends with the milk.
Next, add the milk mixture to the egg yolks and mix well. After that, add 20g of starch to the mixture and stir thoroughly.
To enhance the aroma of the filling, put the mixture back into the pot and add 3 – 4ml of vanilla extract, then stir the mixture over low heat to prevent the filling from burning.
After 7 – 10 minutes when the mixture thickens, turn off the heat and pour the filling into molds to cool. Then, place the filling in the freezer.
After about 20 minutes, take the filling out and divide it evenly into 8 parts, then shape them into balls. Finally, place the filling in the freezer for 3 hours.
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Mix the dough
You prepare a large bowl and add 260g of flour, 26g of sugar, 4g of salt and mix well.
Next, you continue to add 4g of baking powder, 3g of yeast along with 160g of warm milk and mix the mixture well.
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Knead and let the dough rise
You knead the dough by hand for about 3 minutes and add 10g of cooking oil to make the dough smoother. Continue to knead the dough for another 3 – 5 minutes until the dough is really smooth and no longer sticks to your hands.
Next, divide the dough into 8 equal parts, then shape them into balls and wrap them with plastic wrap or cling film, allowing them to rise for 5 minutes.
Remember to save a little dough to shape the animals for the buns!
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Shaping
To shape the dumplings, you roll out the dough thinly and place the egg custard filling in the center. Then, you carefully fold the edges and mold the dough into a round shape so that the filling is completely covered, then place the dough on parchment paper.
Next, you use a little of the remaining dough mixture to form small round balls and attach 3 balls to each dumpling to make the nose and ears, allowing the dumplings to rest for about 30 minutes to rise.
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Steaming the dumplings
You prepare a pot of hot water, then place a steaming basket on top and put the dumplings in the basket, cover with a lid, and steam for about 12 – 15 minutes over medium heat.
After the specified time, turn off the heat but do not rush to take the dumplings out; let them rest for an additional 5 minutes!
Tip: To prevent steam from rising and condensing back onto the dumplings, you can wrap a cloth around the lid before steaming.
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Decoration
After the buns are cooked, take them out of the tray and let them cool. Then, use a little chocolate sauce to decorate the eyes and nose of the animals as desired.
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Final Product
The animal-shaped buns are chewy, soft, and rich with egg and milk filling, delicious and visually appealing, sure to delight everyone, especially children.
The buns are fragrant, smooth, and have a moderate sweetness, making them perfect for breakfast or as a snack throughout the day. Show off your skills and enjoy the result with your loved ones!
How to store steamed buns
- If you have shaped the buns but haven’t steamed them yet, you can place the buns on a tray, wrap each one tightly, and store them in the refrigerator’s cool compartment. The temperature of the cool compartment will help preserve the buns for about a week.
- For steamed buns, wait for them to cool completely, place them in a food container, then cover tightly or put them in a plastic bag or zip bag, and store them in the refrigerator’s cool compartment. When you want to eat, just take them out and reheat.
- If you don’t have a refrigerator, after steaming the buns, you should not open the pot lid but keep it covered to let the buns cool naturally. When you are ready to use them, open the lid to take the buns out.
So, Điện Máy XANH has guided you on how to make the delicious and simple animal-shaped buns with sweet filling. What are you waiting for? Get into the kitchen and show your skills right away, and I wish you perfect batches of steamed buns!
