Curried Beef Steamed Buns (includes video tutorial!)

Tender beef, soft and sweet onions, and fragrant curry--all bundled up in a fluffy and moist bread. This is a wonderful on-the-go breakfast or lunch, a satisfying after-school snack, and (dare I say it) probably a really good accompaniment for beer in the wee hours of the night.

The inspiration for these buns comes from two sources: 1) my mother's steamed bread recipe from when I was little, and 2) a beef curry filling method/recipe from a prolific Taiwanese home cook whose house we went to for a party after Christmas this past year when visiting some family friends--this lady also was the maker of the original beef curry steamed buns we tasted a few years ago. I've been wanting to get the recipe for the filling for those buns ever since I tasted them originally, and it was an exciting day this holiday season when I finally met her again and got the inside scoop.

As my mother's recipe consists of a list of 4 ingredients handwritten on a post-it (no instructions given) and the recipe from the family friend was more of a verbal explanation without any specific ingredient measurements, this project was an experiment in fusing a few different methods and my instincts/experience in order to reproduce those sumptuous beef curry steamed buns that, until now, lived on only in our memories.

I am glad to announce that the experiment was a mighty success, only took one afternoon, and we are soooo stuffed full of curried beef and steamed bread right now, with more stashed in the fridge and freezer for the next couple of weeks!

You can use this method on a variety of fillings--just veggies, pork, chicken, sweet red bean, etc.--the possibilities are endless. I remember waltzing around the house after school with a pork-and-veggie bun in hand many a day when I was a kid. I was joking that now that I've mastered these buns, I am *finally* ready to have children because now I can feed them with yummy buns similar to those I grew up eating. Haha, ok, maybe it isn't a prerequisite for good child rearing, but the recipe is easily doubled and it certainly is a fairly high-yield way to feed your family.



Curried Beef Steamed Buns (Yield: 22-24 buns)

Ingredients:

Yeast Dough:
6 cups flour (I used 4 cups all-purpose and 2 cups bread flour, but straight all-purpose is fine too)
2 teaspoons of dry active yeast (if all you have is the packs, one 1/4 oz pack dry yeast is fine)
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
~2 cups warm milk
a couple splashes of olive oil (maybe 2 Tablespoons)

Curry Beef Filling:
~1.5 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, medium-fine diced
1 Tablespoon curry powder
2 blocks Japanese curry paste (1/4 of a regular package, see below for image)
minced garlic, salt, and pepper to taste

Instructions and Image/Video Tutorial:

For the dough:
Mix together the milk, sugar, oil, and yeast in a large bowl and set aside for at least 10 minutes to allow for the yeast to bloom (Figure 1). Measure out flour and salt and put in mixer bowl fitted with dough hook. Add milk mixture and start mixer on low speed (Figure 2), mixing until flour fully incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic (several minutes). If doing by hand, make a well in the center of the flour in a large bowl and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Incorporate flour into the wet ingredients little by little until you can form a ball of dough. Knead by hand on a lightly floured smooth surface, incorporating any leftover flour from the bowl, until dough is smooth and elastic (several minutes). Place dough ball in a large oiled bowl, cover with damp towel, and let dough rise until doubled, about 1-2 hours depending on ambient temperature (Figure 3), or basically however long it takes to get the filling ready and cooled down. You could probably also let the dough rise overnight in the fridge.

Figure 1. Blooming yeast

Figure 2. Kneading dough in the KitchenAid

Figure 3. Rising dough

For the filling:
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Start a wide-bottomed pot/skillet on medium heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan). Add the onions and garlic (if desired) and saute until translucent (Figure 4). Add salt and pepper to taste (I usually sprinkle enough of each to lightly cover the entire surface area of the pot). Once onions are soft, add the ground beef and brown the meat, breaking up clumps with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the curries (Figures 5 and 6) and stir them in until the blocks of Japanese curry has totally melted into the meat. The mixture should be thickening up at this point (Figure 7). Once meat mixture is thickened, taste for desired seasoning level and adjust if necessary, then remove pan from heat and transfer to a bowl that won't be easily stained by the curry (glass or metal). You can prepare this filling ahead of time and defrost before use, but if you want to use it immediately after cooking, throw it in the freezer for about 30 minutes or fridge for 1 hour to cool down a bit before using.

Figure 4. Sweating onions

Figure 5. These are the two types of curry I used.

Figure 6. This is what the Japanese curry blocks look like inside the package. Only two blocks (missing above) are needed for one recipe.

Figure 7. Browned ground beef, onions, and curries.

For wrapping:
When the dough is fully doubled, punch it down to deflate the dough and flip it out onto a lightly floured work surface. You can divide dough down into equal small chunks in one of two methods: 1) by weight: use a scale to measure out 2 oz chunks of dough (should make exactly 22 balls, Figure 8), or 2) by division: using a knife or pastry cutter, divide dough in half (=2), and each chunk in half again (=4), and again (=8), and then lastly in thirds (=24) until you end up with 24 equally small chunks. Cover the balls of dough loosely with damp towel to keep them moist.

For each ball of dough, use a rolling pin and roll the ball out into a circle about 1/8-1/4 inch thick (Figure 9). Pick up the round of dough, place it in one hand, and scoop 2-3 Tablespoons of cooled filling into the middle of the dough (Figure 10). Using one hand to pinch the folds together, keep adding pleats and turning the bun in circular rotation towards the hand that is collecting the folds. Once you make it all the way around the top, pinch together the remaining small open hole on the top to seal the bun (Figure 11). To help demonstrate this, see the short video tutorial below (Figure 12)!

Note: If you end up with leftover filling, the stuff is pretty darn good on rice or on any other bread you might have around. If you end up with leftover dough, just roll each extra ball up, put it on a piece of parchment, and steam along with everything else. The plain steamed bread is delicious with a piece of fried egg for breakfast or as a dinner roll.

Figure 8. Measuring out chunks of dough.

Figure 9. Roll each ball of dough out into a thin oval.

Figure 10. Add about 2-3 Tablespoons of filling per bun

Figure 11. Twist and pleat the top of the bun until you get all the way around, then pinch the ends together to seal the top (see video below).

Figure 12. Short video tutorial on how to pleat the filling into the dough wrapper.

For steaming:

As you wrap your buns, place a square of parchment paper under each bun (the purpose of the little paper is so they won't stick to the steamer basket later) and place them directly into the steamer basket or onto a cookie sheet. Don't stack them as they will stick together at this point.

Arrange the buns in your steamer basket, making sure not to crowd the buns--they will expand and you need to make sure you don't cover up all the steam holes or else the steam won't transfer up into the chamber (Figure 13) demonstrates a slightly overcrowded basket--we should have put 6 in that basket rather than 8, as when they were done they were touching and were hard to pull apart from each other without ripping). Let buns rise/proof until they have noticeably increased in size, approximately 20-30 minutes. If you don't let them proof, they turn out a little gummy.

When you are about ready to steam, get your water boiling in your bottom pot. Once the water has come to a boil, place your basket(s) on top and steam for ~15 minutes, or until the buns are puffed and swollen and fluffy-looking. If you have more than one level on your steamer, you may need to add 5 minutes cooking time per level added.

When done, remove buns from pan and allow to cool about 5 minutes before serving. (Figure 14).

Figure 13. Stick a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of each bun and load up your favorite steamer basket.

Figure 14. Cool for about 10-15 minutes to let the bread set, then serve and enjoy!

For storage:

Once the buns are cooled to room temperature, the outsides will develop a shiny skin, and at this point the buns are less likely to stick together when stacked. Store by placing buns in large food storage bags or airtight containers and refrigerate for up to a week or so, or freeze for longer. To reheat, you can pop defrosted buns in the microwave for 20-30 seconds (best to check every 10-15 seconds until you figure out how long it takes in your own microwave), or you can re-steam them briefly (5 minutes or so).

Enjoy!