I made steamed bbq pork buns to satisfy a craving. I like making these old school style with a sourdough starter, so that was another reason, as I wanted to put my starter to use. These are nowhere near as good as the last time I made them, as the dough here was more just a steamed bun dough rather than specifically for char siu bao. So this dough only contained yeast in the form of sourdough starter vs ammonia and baking powder, which help the dough to develop the signature cracks typical of char siu bao. Last time I cobbled together a dough with both those ingredients and it was very exciting seeing the buns open up.
These are still deliciously fluffy and a nice pale color, but the dough is more for other types of buns.
4 Likes
That’s the texture I like in those buns. 
1 Like
I combined two things I don’t care for here in mango and crepe cake. I don’t care for crepe cakes for a few reasons. One being that the crepes for crepe cakes and (also the dim sum mango rolls) are purposely cooked pale and soft, and I think crepes are best when nicely browned.
Two is that I find cold crepes kind of sad and flabby. I just don’t think they’re particularly delicious. Even the most celebrated crepe cakes are just fine to me, but nothing I would ever choose to eat. Meanwhile the mango crepe rolls are extremely bland for my liking because it’s mildly flavored and very sweet mangoes, tasteless crepes, and mildly sweet cream (crepe cakes also tend to be on the tasteless side tbh). But we got a bunch of mangoes again (people here will give you mangoes and also avocados no matter how much you protest that you can’t possibly consume them all), and I have cream sitting in the fridge that I can’t use to bake as I originally intended, so might as well give these things another try.
I don’t have instant pudding and I was definitely not buying any just for this (and because I haven’t looked I’m not entirely sure it’s even sold here the way Jello is since gelatin is more popular in Latin countries than pudding). I made half the cream with the respective amount of sugar, a generous splash of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. It has the perfect sweetness and a very nice vanilla flavor and I don’t find it necessary to stabilize cream for something like this anyway.
The crepes I added 2% salt. There is nothing more depressing than a saltless crepe, and less than 2% salt is still pretty sad. I used my large nonstick pan to cook them.
There’s no sense as to how many rolls this recipe makes (she doesn’t list a yield), so even with half the amount I think two rolls would have been good to split the cream between. As it was I made a single roll and definitely had too much cream. But I must admit the ends with just whipped cream were delicious. Still, part of that I think is the crepes themselves were still room temp while the cream was cold. Once cold I don’t know if I’ll feel the same. I got a piece with mango in it and felt the mango was in the way, inserting its obtrusive sweetness. 
It does not taste bad, but the mango also doesn’t do anything for me.
I’m trying not to make mango ice cream again, but it might be the best solution while the oven continues to be down. Or I purée them and save for when I’m able to bake again or in the mood for something like mango and passion fruit sorbet.
2 Likes
I love a bowl of rice pudding with a ladle of mango custard in the center. I think Indian buffets are wonderful.
I would love for you to make it again with a videographer. Wow.
1 Like
This cake got better and better with each passing day, so it is definitely one I wouldn’t mind making again.
1 Like
Raspberry jelly squares and no-bake brownies
4 Likes
Scallion pancakes (cong you bing). I was originally going to make them with sourdough discard, but I ended up using it, so did the classic flaky, thin paratha-type with a smattering of scallions. A little white pepper and five spice (not enough to taste it really) went into the flour and lard paste for these. They came out great. Super crisp and flaky and perfectly flavored.
11 Likes
Yum!
1 Like
i had no idea lard was used in scallion pancakes.
1 Like
I like to use chicken schmaltz.
3 Likes
Neutral oil is probably more common now (or at least outside of China it is), but lard is used a fair amount in Chinese cooking and is the type of fat that gets used in a lot of doughs that are laminated like this.
2 Likes
That looks amazing! I love a good scallion pancake, and haven’t made them at home in a while. I was never able to get them this fluffy though, and maybe lard is the key. This is the style I enjoy and miss. I’m always so disappointed with the overly fried version you get at a lot of Chinese restaurants in the US these days.
2 Likes
Thank you! Truthfully I love pretty much every style of scallion pancake I can get, but usually make a type with a lot more scallions. Like this:
I actually do want to make this style sometime, though:
For these I did a combination of this:
And this:
2 Likes
A couple of weeks ago I refreshed some starter that I meant to use for something and then I didn’t. So I made that discard into some sourdough naan. Mixed the discard with some yogurt and milk, flour, and salt and let it go for a few hours until puffy. Cooked in a skilled because no oven. The flavor is awesome. I love my starter because it gives me exactly the level of sour I like, as I don’t like very tangy sourdough, and even with this having been in my fridge for a couple of weeks it still wasn’t very sour.
4 Likes
Esbieta is to me queen of no-bake desserts and these two are really nice:
The first is as usual not something I would have imagined. The layers are made up of breadcrumbs, dried fruit and nuts, and bound with chocolate and butter. I used prunes and raisins, but do think dates, which are less tangy than prunes, are a better option. The crumbs were fresh breadcrumbs from some shokupan I made a while back, so my mixture clumped more than if I’d made dried breadcrumbs. I really love this dessert, though I will say people who don’t like tangy desserts might not be into it, as the filling is pleasantly and noticeably tangy from yogurt. I only had 70% chocolate which I almost never feel is the best choice for anything, including here where a 57% chocolate would better suit the flavors.
The second reminded me of lemon bisque, but more refined. It uses lemon gelatin, but instead of evaporated milk it includes cream cheese and heavy cream, so it’s like a no-bake lemon cheesecake. It’s light and not too sweet, and the coconut on top really adds to it. I wish my particular lemon gelatin weren’t so aggressively yellow, as the colors of hers is much more pleasing than mine.
I made a half recipe of each of these.
4 Likes
I always have sourdough starter on hand and now have extra scallions after over buying to make scallion ginger sauce to take to a friend’s who made bo ssam. Sounds like dinner is coming together!
2 Likes
I want to try those pancakes so much, but every week something comes up.
1 Like
@shrinkrap , I happened upon a Mandazi recipe today. You had mentioned them in the legume thread! https://www.saveur.com/recipes/mandazi-recipe/
1 Like
