Anshun "Sourdough" Bao (安顺破酥包)

Posubao! These Baozi are simultaneously both fluffy and flaky, and our all time favorite bao from anywhere. We're doing a version from Anshun in the Guizhou province, which uses fermented rice to catalyze a starter dough in place of yeast.

This is a long video, and this recipe is not the easiest one we've ever shared. Some baking experience (preferably with Bao doughs) is recommended :)

0:00 - Why is this the best bao probably?
1:23 - Learning these bao.
2:41 - High level overview
3:45 - Fermented Rice: Introduction
4:03 - Fermented Rice: Soaking
4:08 - Fermented Rice: Steaming and Mixing with Yeast Ball
5:33 - Fermented Rice: Finished after 72 hours
6:05 - Make the Starter
6:33 - Make the Sponge
6:52 - Make the Bao Dough, Knead, Relax
9:28 - Laminate, Relax
11:17 - Fillings: Introduction
12:23 - Bean Paste: Soaking the Beans
12:34 - Bean Paste: Boiling the Beans
12:53 - Bean Paste: Washing the Bean Paste
13:29 - Bean Paste: Frying the Bean Paste
14:14 - Perilla/Sugar: Pounding the Mix
14:50 - Pork Filling: Hand Mincing the Pork
15:16 - Pork Filling: Seasoning and Stirring
15:43 - Portion and Wrap
17:27 - Proofing and Steaming
18:06 - Is this a difficult recipe?
18:49 - Huge thank you to Patrons for allowing us do these long projects!

LAOZAO FERMENTED RICE

Long grain sticky rice (糯米), 250g
Yeast ball a.k.a. jiuqu a.k.a. "Shanghai Yeast Balls" (酒曲), ~1/6 of a ball or ~1.8g.

The yeast balls are made primarily of rhizopus and can be found online. You might also find them under the name of "Chinese Rice Wine Starter":
https://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Yeast...

PROCESS: To make the fermented rice, soak the rice overnight. Then, strain and transfer to a steamer lined with wet cloth. Steam for 45 minutes, coming back every 15 minutes to splash ~1 cup of water over the rice to prevent drying. Let the rice cool down to 35C. Dissolve the yeast ball in a bit of water and mix it in with the sticky rice. Let it ferment in a warm (ideally ~30C), dark place for 72 hours.

You can also use a Zoji rice cooker with the 'sticky rice' setting in place of steaming, but be paranoid about any potential oil in your rice cooker. Thoroughly re-wash before use. ANY oil can muff up the laozao.

You can also refer to our previous Laozao video. In that video, however, we use packaged rhizopus (cannot work for starter doughs unfortunately):    • Laozao, Fermented Rice (醪糟/酒酿)  

BEAN PASTE, INGREDIENTS

Red Adzuki Beans (红豆), 250g
To boil: 1L water mixed with 1/4 tsp sodium carbonate (碱面)
To fry: 100mL of neutral oil, 60g dark brown sugar (黑糖)

PROCESS: Soak the beans overnight. Next day, boil the beans in the water/sodium carbonate over a medium-low flame for ~1 hour until very soft and almost broken down. Next, rinse the shells off the beans using the strainer/cloth bag contraption we describe in the video - the logic is that you're rinsing the paste off of the shell (which will collect in the bag) and the shells will remain in the strainer. Squeeze out the moisture from the bag. Fry in a non-stick pan/wok together with the oil and sugar over a low flame for ~30 minutes until the paste becomes thick and dark.

For more information on bean paste making, refer to our longevity buns video:    • Longevity Buns (Birthday Bao) 寿桃豆沙包  

SUGAR/PERILLA, INGREDIENTS

Granulated sugar, 1/2 tbsp
Toasted perilla seed (苏籽), 1/2 tbsp

Perilla seed should be very available from Korean supermarkets/suppliers:
https://www.amazon.com/assi-Perilla-S...

You will likely need to toast the seeds yourself. To do so, just toss them over a dry pan over medium flame for ~2 minutes, until the seeds just begin to release oil.

If perilla seed is hard for you to find, you can also just use granulated sugar, which many shops in Guizhou do.

PORK FILLING

Pork leg (后腿肉) or belly (五花肉), ~60-70% lean, 150g
Sliced scallions, 20g
Seasoning: 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cornstarch (生粉), 1/8 tsp white pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder (花椒粉), 1/2 liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1/4 tsp light soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp oil to coat

PROCESS: 14:50

STARTER DOUGH, INGREDIENTS

Active laozao fermented rice, 50g, half rice/half liquid
AP flour (中筋面粉), 50g
Water, 25g

PROCESS: 6:06
For more information on maintaining the starter, check out the pinned notes.

SPONGE, INGREDIENTS

Starter, 60g
AP flour, 300g
Water, 135g

FINAL DOUGH

AP Flour, 300g
Water, 135
Sugar, 30g
Sodium carbonate (碱面), 1g

Or in baker's percentages:

Ingredient | Sponge % + Final Dough % = Total %

AP flour | 50 + 50 = 100.00%
Water | 22.5 + 22.5 = 45%
Sugar | 0 + 5 = 5%
Starter | 10 + 0 = 10%
Sodium Carbonate | 0 + 0.15 = 0.15%

And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project!
  / chinesecookingdemystified  

Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel):    • Live Stream: Favourite B-Side Tracks