Shengjian Bao

A healthy and tasty Chinese snack, crispy, bursting with juice and oil in one bite.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 8

Servings

Calories 291kcal

Add ginger slices, scallion sections and Sichuan pepper to the warm water and soak them for 5 minutes.

Add the meat in a large bowl. Stir the meat, add the egg, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, five-spice powder, and sugar, and mix well. While stirring, add the scallion and ginger water in three batches to blend perfectly with the meat. The essential tip here is to make sure the filling is stirred well until it is slightly fluffy and turns light pink.
Add chopped scallion and drizzle with hot oil. This step can stimulate the scallion’s aroma. Mix well again.

Add sugar, baking powder, yeast, cooking oil and warm water to the flour and stir with chopsticks until it turns into a dough. Transfer it to the chopping board and knead it for a few minutes with your hands to expel the air and make it smooth. Cover it with a bowl, and let it ferment for only 15 minutes. We don’t need to wait until it doubles in size. You can also use a stand mixer, knead for around 8-9 minutes at low speed.

First, divide the fermented dough into two equal parts. Then, roll each part into a long strip of about 30 cm. After that, cut each long strip into 12 small pieces of dough. Finally, roll each piece of dough into a slightly thicker round crust.
Place a spoonful of filling in the center of the dough circle. Then hold the dough circle in one hand. Then, use the other hand to start pleating the edges by pinching a small section of dough to form a pleat. Continue to repeat and at the same time, twist the bun with the other hand and finally seal the bun.

Pour 2 tbsp. Cook oil in a pan, place the shengjianbao, and fry for 3-5 minutes until the bottom becomes crispy and golden brown.
Once the bottom of the shengjianbao is lightly browned, add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid. Slow down the fire and let it simmer for around 5 minutes.
Then remove the lid continue to cook off the water and make the bottom crispy again. At the end, sprinkle with chopped scallion and black sesame and serve hot.

This recipe is first published in 2014 and then updated with a new recipe and video.