Staying in, making buns

What did you do during the first 14 days of Movement Control Order? Tough as it seemed, but we tried to make things as normal as possible around the house.

We stayed put at home most of the time. Some days, I would have to put on face mask when gone out to buy stuff and food. I also joined hubby for morning walk few mornings, stayed in the vicinity of our neighbourhood.

The kids kept themselves entertained, did a bit of reading and revision but mostly occupied the tv. Luckily the school teachers started to give homework starting last week, so the kids have some learning while stay put at home. On the other hand, this mummy had to crack her head hard thinking of food rationing, and meal menu while going on with usual housechore.

Hubby was working but not 5 days; instead he and staff were on shift and on 2 or 3 working days per week till this MCO is over.

When he is around he would follow me to go out to get stuff and food. We even got stopped on 1st day of the MCO at our area by police. Nothing serious, they asked where did we go to, etc. After few minutes questioning and photo taking, we headed home which was less than a minute drive.

During this period, I did few homemade snack and food. I learnt new skill and tried out new recipe. You could say it had been a fruitful and unwasted time for me.

Baking is one of activities I did. Never thought I would learn to bake. Never too old to learn new things, right? And what better when you have all the times in the world, staying at home because of the long holiday and MCO.

I learnt to bake bread. Thanks to my sis, she gave me a breadmaker and my journey of homemade bread making started last month.

As I mentioned beforehand, my man took 2 days leave, on the 2nd and 3rd day of the MRO. He supposed to go for his overnight fishing trip that week but unexpected thing happened. Covid-19, the stay at home order, friends last minute cancel the trip. So his fishing trip was postponed, and he was stuck with us at home over the weekend.

On the 1st morning of his leave, he woke up and told me to get ready stuff for buns making. Yes, from breads, we turned to making buns! Chinese paos to be exact.

When hubby was small, he used to help his grandma kneading and making peahs and buns in Song. So he knew some basic skill of kneading. You could say that he taught me and the kids something new during the school holiday. Good to have him to teach us something over the holiday. Better than the kids stuck watching tv, playing phone or fighting with each other. 

So we started paos making in the midmorning. First time making paos for me. My girl was more keen than the boys in the making process. The boys only know how to eat them. Lol.

The ingredients are the same like my bread except we used pao flour. Next round, we will try using the all-purpose flour. 

Steamed Chinese buns

Ingredients:

For pao skin

300gram pao or all-purpose flour (about 3 cups) 

4 gram or 1 1/4 tsp yeast

3 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp cooking oil

150ml to 185ml room temperature water

For fillings

Minced pork (preferably more fat) 

Spring onion, green parts only

Salt & pepper

Shao xing wine

Oyster sauce

Parchment paper

Methods:

1. In a mixing bowl, add in the flour, yeast and sugar.  Then pour in water, little by little. Add cooking oil. Mix well. 

2. Add water if dough is dry. Add water until dough comes together. 

3. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand until dough is no longer sticky. Add salt and continue to knead until dough is smooth. 

4. Put in a bowl, wrap with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes before shaping. 

5. For the fillings, mix all the fillings ingredients. 

6. The dough will rise after 15 minutes. 

7. Lightly dust the surface with flour. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. Work with one dough at a time. Roll dough into smooth round ball with your palms. 

8. Shape and press the dough flat. Rolling pin may be useful now. 

9. Place filling in centre of the dough. With your fingers, pinch the side in circular motion to cover up the filling. 

10. Place bun on the parchment paper.  Lightly dab the surface of the bun with water to prevent it from drying. Loosely cover with clean cloth towel. Continue with other dough.  Let it rise for 15 minutes. 

11. Place the buns on the steamer. Leaving space in between buns. Steam in batches if necessary. 

12. When the water is boiled, steam the buns under low heat for 15 minutes. Wrap the lid with cloth towel to prevent moisture for dripping onto the buns. 

13. After steaming is done, turned off the heat. Do not immediately open the lid. Let the buns sit for 1 minute. 

14. Remove and let them cool on wire rack. 

Voila!! Our lunch that day was steamed Chinese paus!! The feeling of making and eating our homemade paus was so good and satisfying. 

We made paus 2 more times at home. Once was plain mantou.

I bet we will be making it again during the partial lockdown. Another 14 days to go.  Stay safe and stay strong, guys.