Yu Xiang Rou Si Steamed buns 鱼香肉丝包子

Name: Yu Xiang Rou Si Steamed buns 鱼香肉丝包子
Prep time: 3 h
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 3 h 12 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 300 g All purpose flour; 160 g Water; 5 g Sugar; 4 g Instant dry yeast; 250 g Pork tenderloin; 1 Carrot; ½ Green pepper; ½ cup Woodear Mushrooms; 1 tbsp Chopped ginger; 1 tbsp Chopped garlic; 3 Chopped green onion; 1 tbsp Fermented broad bean chilli paste; ⅔ tbsp Light soy sauce; 1.50 tbsp Sugar; 1.50 tbsp Chinese black vinegar; 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine; 1 tbsp Corn starch; 3 tbsp Water; ½ tsp White pepper; ¼ tsp Salt; ½ tsp Sea salt; 1.50 tsp Light soy sauce; ½ tsp White pepper; 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine; 2 tbsp Corn starch slurry

AuthorYun Zhang JohnCategoryBread, MeatDifficultyIntermediateRating

Yields8 Servings

Prep Time3 hrsCook Time12 minsTotal Time3 hrs 12 mins

Yu Xiang Rou Si Steamed buns 鱼香肉丝包子

This recipe marries two of my favourite Chinese dishes - Yu Xiang Rou Si / 鱼香肉丝 and soft, fluffy steamed baozi 包子. And it seems that they’re a match made in heaven. So it is with great pleasure to introduce you to my Yu Xiang Rou Si steamed buns 鱼香肉丝包子. Please join me in wishing them a joyous union!

Yu Xiang Rou Si / 鱼香肉丝

Previously I’ve shared a recipe Yu Xiang Rou Si / 鱼香肉丝. The name translates to “fish fragrant meat slivers”, which I admit, sounds really unappealing. But actually, “Yu Xiang / 鱼香” aka. "fish-fragrant" has nothing at all to do with fish. It refers to a combination of aromatics and flavours that comes together to form an incredible fragrance.

It is a classic stir fry dish that can be found in most Sichuan restaurant menus.

While the name maybe foreign (and strange), its sweet, sour, fragrant and savoury flavour profile is commonly found and beloved in many Chinese stir fry dishes.

The Baozi / Steamed bun

If you’ve been to the blog before, you’ll know that I love sharing different steamed bun recipes. Meaty savoury ones like Saucy meat Buns 酱肉包 and Deluxe Mantou 馒头. Vegetarian buns like Veggie and Tofu Buns 蔬菜包 and Pumpkin Steamed Buns With Pumpkin Filling 南瓜蒸包.

AND sweet dessert Baozi like Sesame Steamed Baos 黑芝麻包 and Longevity Peach Buns 壽桃包.

So using steamed buns aka. Baozi 包子 here as a vehicle for consumption is genius! The soft, fluffy, light steamed buns wraps the saucy meat and vegetable fillings perfectly, which means that you can now enjoy a Yu Xiang Rou Si stir fry dish on the go!

Also, it takes some skills to make a perfect steamed bun, so definitely check out the Juicy Beef & Vermicelli steamed bun post for detailed tips and tricks.

Minor adaptions

To make a traditional stir fry dish work for steam buns, I had to make some small adaptions. For example, to make the filling, I only stir fried the meat and Woodear mushrooms and mixed in the other raw veggies off the heat. This will help retain some crunch in the veggies after steaming.

You Will Need

Steamed buns

300 g All purpose flour

160 g Water

5 g Sugar1 tsp

4 g Instant dry yeast~ 1 tsp

Filling

250 g Pork tenderloinOr other lean cut of pork

1 CarrotJulienne sliced

½ Green pepperJulienne sliced

½ cup Woodear MushroomsPre-soaked and chopped

1 tbsp Chopped ginger

1 tbsp Chopped garlic

3 Chopped green onion

1 tbsp Fermented broad bean chilli pastePixian doubanjiang 郫县豆瓣酱

Stir Fry Sauce

⅔ tbsp Light soy sauce

1.50 tbsp Sugar

1.50 tbsp Chinese black vinegar

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

1 tbsp Corn starch

3 tbsp Water

½ tsp White pepper

¼ tsp Salt

Meat marinade

½ tsp Sea salt

1.50 tsp Light soy sauce

½ tsp White pepper

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

2 tbsp Corn starch slurry1 tbsp corn starch + 2 tbsp water

Instructions

Steam bun dough

Combine flour, sugar and yeast a large mixing bowl. Slowly stream in the water while mixing with flour with chopsticks. Then switch to hands and bring the dough ball together. Knead for a few minutes by hand until the dough is some what smooth. Leave it covered to rise in a warm, draft-free place.

Filling

Cut pork into thin slivers. Then marinate with all marinade ingredients. Stir well until all the liquid has been absorbed by the meat. Set aside.

Cut veggies in the same way as the pork. Chop garlic, ginger and green onions and set aside.

Make the stir fry sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat up oil in a pan over medium heat. Add fermented broad bean chilli paste and fry for a minute until fragrant. Toss in the garlic, ginger and green onions and stir fry for another minute or so.

Then increase the heat to medium high and add the marinated meat. Quickly stir fry to break apart the slivers of meat to cook evenly. Add in Woodear mushrooms if using and stir fry together for another minute before adding in the stir fry sauce. *Make sure to stir up the sauce before pouring in to mix up the starch.

Stir fry until thickened and the sauce now is coating everything. Take it off the heat and then mix in the rest of the sliced vegetables. Leave it to cool.

Yu Xiang Rou Si steamed buns 鱼香肉丝包子 | Yun's Family Table

Shaping the buns

When the dough has risen by 2 to 2.5 times its size. (~1-2 hours) Take it out of the bowl and knead it on a floured flat surface. Knead for 3-5min, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.

When the dough has been kneaded well and smooth, divide into equal 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball shape and then roll it into a round disk that is thicker in the middle and thinner around the edges.

Put as much filling as you can into the centre of the disk. (~2-3 tbsp) And start to plead the buns to close.

Hold the bun with your left hand and start pleading with the right thumb and index finger. Turn the buns with your left hand as you plead with the right, pinching the folds together as you go. When you get to the end, close the last fold by twisting and pinching the opening and all the pleads you’ve done.

Place the buns on parchment paper and into the steamer to rise again for about 30min. you’ll know they are ready when they’ve puffed up 50% and slowly spring back when pushed.

Cooking

Cover and put it onto the heat. Once it comes up to the steam, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10-12min. After, don’t open the right away, wait a couple of minutes and let the steamer slowly lose steam before lifting the lid.

Ingredients

Steamed buns

300 g All purpose flour

160 g Water

5 g Sugar1 tsp

4 g Instant dry yeast~ 1 tsp

Filling

250 g Pork tenderloinOr other lean cut of pork

1 CarrotJulienne sliced

½ Green pepperJulienne sliced

½ cup Woodear MushroomsPre-soaked and chopped

1 tbsp Chopped ginger

1 tbsp Chopped garlic

3 Chopped green onion

1 tbsp Fermented broad bean chilli pastePixian doubanjiang 郫县豆瓣酱

Stir Fry Sauce

⅔ tbsp Light soy sauce

1.50 tbsp Sugar

1.50 tbsp Chinese black vinegar

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

1 tbsp Corn starch

3 tbsp Water

½ tsp White pepper

¼ tsp Salt

Meat marinade

½ tsp Sea salt

1.50 tsp Light soy sauce

½ tsp White pepper

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

2 tbsp Corn starch slurry1 tbsp corn starch + 2 tbsp water

Directions

Steam bun dough

Filling

Cut pork into thin slivers. Then marinate with all marinade ingredients. Stir well until all the liquid has been absorbed by the meat. Set aside.

Cut veggies in the same way as the pork. Chop garlic, ginger and green onions and set aside.

Make the stir fry sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat up oil in a pan over medium heat. Add fermented broad bean chilli paste and fry for a minute until fragrant. Toss in the garlic, ginger and green onions and stir fry for another minute or so.

Stir fry until thickened and the sauce now is coating everything. Take it off the heat and then mix in the rest of the sliced vegetables. Leave it to cool.

Yu Xiang Rou Si steamed buns 鱼香肉丝包子 | Yun's Family Table

Shaping the buns

When the dough has risen by 2 to 2.5 times its size. (~1-2 hours) Take it out of the bowl and knead it on a floured flat surface. Knead for 3-5min, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Put as much filling as you can into the centre of the disk. (~2-3 tbsp) And start to plead the buns to close.

Place the buns on parchment paper and into the steamer to rise again for about 30min. you’ll know they are ready when they’ve puffed up 50% and slowly spring back when pushed.

Cooking

Yu Xiang Rou Si Steamed buns 鱼香肉丝包子

Ingredients Directions