How to make soft and delicious red bean vegetarian steamed buns, simple and easy to make

How to make vegetarian red bean bun

• 1

  Cooking red beans

  Put 454g of soaked red beans into a pot, add enough water to cover the beans by about 2-3 cm, and cook for 2 hours.

  Tip: If you see the water level dropping while cooking, remember to add more water to prevent the beans from drying out or burning.

  

  
• 2

  Blend the red beans

  Put the cooked beans into the blender with 5ml of water and blend until smooth.

  Use a sieve to strain the blended beans for a finer texture.

  
• 3

  Red Bean Paste

  Put 20g of glutinous rice flour into a pot with 20ml of water, mix well, and add to the blended beans along with 15g of sugar, 2.5g of salt, 10g of cooking oil, and 10g of butter, cooking for 30 minutes over medium heat until the beans dry out.

  Add 5g of cocoa powder, cook for another 5 minutes until the beans are dry, and turn off the heat to cool. Shape the bean paste into small balls of 50g each.

  Tips to identify good filling:

  • Cook the bean filling until it dries out; you will feel that the filling has a chewy, elastic texture and a dark color.
  • If the filling is not dry and is too loose, it will cause the cake to spoil easily, and the filling will ooze out during steaming, making it difficult to shape the cake. Also, do not cook the filling over too high heat, as prolonged cooking will make it dry and hard, making it unappetizing and difficult to roll into balls.
  • You can put the cooked bean filling in the refrigerator for 2 hours to make it easier to roll into balls without sticking to your hands.
  • Use a non-stick pan to easily stir-fry the filling, preventing it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

  

  

  
• 4

  Mixing the Bun Dough

  Add 225g of sugar to a bowl with 500ml of fresh milk and stir until dissolved.

  Pour this mixture into 906g of bun flour, mix well, and knead for 15 minutes. Then, add 10g of cooking oil and knead for another 5 minutes until the dough is sticky and elastic. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

  

  

  
• 5

  Knead the dough for the steamed buns

  After letting the dough rise, knead the dough for another 5 minutes until it is smooth, so it will expand nicely when steamed.

  Tip: Sprinkle a little dry flour on your hands and the kneading surface to make it easier to knead without sticking.

  
• 6

  Divide the dough and shape the buns

  Divide the dough into small pieces (100g each) and roll them into balls, then flatten them (not too thin), place the filling in the center of the dough wrapper and seal the filling tightly.

  Use a piece of string (cotton thread, knitting string) to tie the buns to shape them.

  Tip:

  • Dip the tying string in cooking oil so that when the buns are steamed and you remove the string, it won’t stick to the buns.
  • You can creatively shape the buns as you like to make the dish more unique and interesting.

  

  

  
• 7

  Steaming the buns

  Place the buns on parchment paper and put them in the steamer for 15 minutes, then cut off the shaping strings for the buns.

  Tip:

  • When steaming, you should brush a little cooking oil on the bottom of the buns to help prevent them from sticking after steaming.
  • You should cut off the strings while the buns are still hot; if the buns cool, the strings will stick to the bun skin, making them difficult to remove and tearing the skin.

  

  
• 8

  Final product

  The buns after steaming will have a soft, fragrant skin combined with the sweet, buttery red bean filling. You can enjoy them for breakfast or as a light meal, both are suitable and nutritious.