July 11, 2006

have been craving chinese food.. but to feed all of us, it is expensive, the chinese food here in town is just passable and they do not have Szechuan. Usually most chinese restraunts only have Cantonese style.

I am going to make Kung Pao Chicken, Fried Rice and Steamed Pork Buns which I love and do not get very often at all, like every 5 years, so I am making them today.. and I thought I would share the recipe (and make sure I could find it again easily *wink*)

Steamed Pork Bun Dough

1 cup plain flour
1/2 Tbs baking powder
1 Tbs caster sugar
about 1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vinegar
a pinch of salt

Filling:

150g Chinese roast pork, finely diced
2 Tbs chopped spring onions
1/2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs hoisin sauce
1 Tbs oyster sauce
1 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
2 Tbs cold water

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, stir in the sugar. Add milk mixed with

vinegar and knead to a fairly soft dough. Cover and rest for 1/2 an hour.

Filling:

Stir-fry the pork with the spring onions in the oil. Add the sauces and sugar, then thicken with cornflour mixed with water.

Divide dough into 10 - 12 portions and mould each one into a smooth ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 10 cm circle and moisten the edges slightly with water put a heaped teaspoonful of the filling in the centre of the circle and gather the edges together folding and pleating to make a neat join. Twist dough to seal. Place each bun, join-side up on a small square of greaseproof paper

Place in a bamboo steamer, not too close and steam for 10 - 15 minutes (adding a little vinegar to the water will help to keep the buns white). Serve warm.

I do not have bamboo steamers anymore, but I do have an electric one.. so I will be using that tonight.. and probably my breadmaker to knead the dough. Let me know if anyone else makes this and how it turned out. I have used a recipe similar to this, though I have not used this one before.

Evening Update

just got done with a chicken head count to see what the chick order brought us, now that they are feathered out well and getting combs..

17 Plymouth Barred Rock Roosters
10 Plymouth Barred Rock Hens
4 Dark Brahma Roosters
5 Dark Brahma Hens
3 Rhode Island Red Roosters
7 Rhode Island Red Hens

Which means I am missing 2 Dark Brahma and 1 Rhode Island Red. I have no clue where they are or when they disappeared. I am presuming predators got them or they somehow managed to clear the 7 ft fence.

So for our Fall butchering for chickens, 19 will go in the freezer. I am a little upset where those 2 other Dark Brahmas went. If the hens are laying well in August, I think I will set some and get a December butchering as well.

Once again it poured this morning and just a second ago when I went out to do the chicken count and move the goat. We really needed the rain the clouds have brought the last couple of days.