Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

If you're looking for something to serve with moqueca, may I suggest pão de queijo?  These Brazilian cheese buns are soooo good and easy to make!  They kind of remind me of a savory mochi in that there's a chewiness from the tapioca flour but end up being more light and airy than dense.

The first time I made this recipe from Simply Recipes, I made the mistake of dumping the tapioca flour in my blender before adding all the liquids.  When it came time to turn on the Vitamix, nothing happened.  At first I was afraid the blender was broken but after digging around in there, I realize the blade just couldn't move around in the cement-like tapioca flour.  I ended up dumping everything into a mixing bowl and whisking it by hand, which worked out fine.  But if you'd like to make it in the blender, please learn from my mistake and put the tapioca flour in last.

I was able to find a soft farmer's cheese at my grocery store, but I've also read other recipes that use parmesan and cheddar cheeses, so you can probably use any cheese you like.  The first batch I made had a way too strong olive oil flavor, so in the second batch I cut the oil with some canola, and it turned out a lot better, in my opinion.

Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread) (adapted from Simply Recipes)
makes 24 small buns

Oil for greasing
1 egg
1/3 cup total olive oil and/or canola oil (adjusted to your preference)
2/3 cup milk
Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour
1/2 cup (packed, about 66 grams) grated cheese
1 teaspoon of salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Grease a mini-muffin tin.

Put all of the ingredients into a blender (tapioca flour last) and pulse until smooth. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well. At this point you can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Fill the mini-muffin tin wells until almost full.  The buns will puff a lot in the oven but then shrink a lot upon cooling.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes.

Eat while warm or save to reheat later.

I love how cute they look all puffed up like that, especially the ones with the dimples in the middle.  They kind of remind me of minions.  ^_^

Next:  Kaddo (Afghan Pumpkin with Yogurt and Tomato Sauces)
Previously:  Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)
Last year:  Magical Pumpkin Spice Latte

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Brown Butter Vinaigrette Lobster Buns

This past week the Stop & Shop circular advertised lobsters for only $3.99/lb!  I was already planning on having friends over for a dinner party so I decided to pick up 6 lobsters and have a lobster crackin' party outside on my patio.  Sadly, when I got to the seafood section, I found out that the sale had ended on Labor Day, and the lobsters were now $5.99/lb.  Boo.....

So I ended up just picking up 4 lobsters and decided to make lobster rolls instead.  Traditionally, lobster rolls consist of lobster meat dressed with mayonnaise in a buttered top-split bun.  If you don't live in New England, you've probably never seen a top-split hot dog bun.  When I first moved to Boston, I thought they were kind of weird and reminded me of a slice of Wonder Bread folded in half.  But that was before I realized that they provide a better meat to bread ratio than regular hot dog buns and also toast up nicer.

Last year I went to Portland, Maine for the first time and had the best lobster rolls in my life at the Eventide Oyster Co.  Theirs is rather nontraditional in that they swap out the mayonnaise for a brown butter vinaigrette, and they serve it in a homemade steamed bun.  It was soooooooo good, I had to try to recreate it!

First of all, the lobster meat.  This was my first time cooking lobsters by myself, and it was not my finest moment.  Lobsters already creep me out a bit because 1) they look like bugs and 2) they're still alive and moving around when you cook them.  I know you can kill them by putting a knife through their head before cooking them, but I wasn't about to do that because see 1) and 2) above.  And even after you kill them that way they still move around!  Nope!

Instead I put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes before cooking them so that they were nice and relaxed.  Even then I couldn't handle touching them so I used tongs to transfer them to the pot or just slid them in from the bag.  I chose to steam them rather than boil them because it takes a lot less time to bring an inch of water to boil vs. a whole pot.

I followed this video to crack the lobster and extract the meat, making sure to crack the lobsters over the pot with the steaming water in order to catch all the juices.  (I saved this liquid to make lobster bisque the next day.)  You'll find the majority of the meat in the claws, knuckles, and tail.  There's pockets of meat in the body, and you can squeeze out little tubes of meat from the legs, but that was a lot more work than I was interested in doing, so I just left the bodies for my friends to pick at if they wanted to (they wanted to).

Now let's talk about the buns.  I'd recommend making them from the dough in my hua juan recipe, but if you're lucky enough to live near an Asian grocery story that sells steamed buns you can use those too.  I was kind of lazy and just bought some from Super 88.  I think they worked out okay, but using homemade bao buns would've been infinitely better.

For the brown butter vinaigrette I just browned a stick of butter and added the juice from one lemon and salt to taste.  Quickly sauté with the lobster meat just to heat through, top with some chopped chives, and it's ready for the steamed buns.

Brown Butter Vinaigrette Lobster Buns (inspired by Eventide Oyster Co.)
makes 6 small buns

3 one-pound lobsters
1/2 cup unsalted butter
Juice from one lemon (about 1/4 cup)
Salt to taste
Chives, chopped
6 steamed buns

Fill a large pot with 1" of water and throw in enough salt to make it as salty as the sea.  Bring to a boil.  Add the lobsters (one at a time if your pot isn't big enough), cover, and steam for 10 minutes.  Remove the lobsters to a rimmed baking sheet and allow to cool.

Once they are cool enough to touch, twist off the claws and tail and remove the meat.  Coarsely chop and set aside.

Heat a medium pot on medium heat and melt the butter.  Swirl the pot around occasionally and continue to heat until the milk solids at the bottom turn brown and the butter smells starts to smell nutty.  Immediately remove from heat and continue to swirl the pot around so that the milk solids don't burn.  Add the lemon juice and salt to taste.  Toss in the chopped lobster meat and return the pot to heat just until the lobster meat is heated through.

If needed, reheat the steamed buns in the microwave.  Fill the buns with the lobster salad and top with the chopped chives.  Serve warm.

Previously:  Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread
Next up:  Ramen Lobster Rolls

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Bacon and Egg Bunny Buns

When I first saw these on Tastespotting, I just knew I had to make them, and what better venue for some bunny buns than an Easter brunch? The recipe seemed a little different from the one I use for hua juan, but I decided to follow it exactly. The only change I made was that I used scallions instead of chives in the bacon egg mixture and used ice cream sprinkles instead of eyes for the chives.

Bacon and Egg Bunny Buns (based on this recipe from justhungry.com)
makes 12 buns

For the dough:

400 g all-purpose white flour
1 packet (7g) instant dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
220 ml warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
extra flour for rolling out

For the filling:

2 slices bacon
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoo sugar
1 teaspoon rice wine
1 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients for the dough together. Add the warm water a little at a time, mixing all the time, until it forms a shaggy ball. Add the oil and knead in the bowl until the dough cleans the sides. Place on a board (lightly floured if necessary) and knead until smooth. Form into a ball, place back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave until risen to about 2 1/2 times its original size, about 1 hour.

In the meantime, make the filling. In a dry non-stick frying pan, fry the the bacon bits until crispy but not too black. Drain well on a paper towel and crumble once cooled.

Mix together the egg, soy sauce, sugar and rice wine. In the same non-stick frying pan (i.e. in the bacon grease), mix the egg around to make scrambled eggs that are firm but not hard (take off the heat while still soft and they’ll continue to cook to the ideal firmness). Add the scallions and bacon at the end and mix well. Let cool to room temperature.

Punch down the risen dough, roll into a snake and cut into 12 equal pieces. Make each piece into a small, smooth ball. Cover with a dampened kitchen towel and let rest for about 15 minutes.

Cut parchment paper into twelve 4" or so sized squares.

Make ready the steaming equipment.

Flatten a dough ball to about 5" in diameter, making the edges thinner than the middle part.

Place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the dough circle. Don’t try to overfill or you will have trouble closing up the dough.

Gather up the dough around the filling, pinching to seal well. The dough should be moist enough to form a good seal, but if not brush the edges with the tiny bit of water and pinch closed again.

Flip the bun over, and form into a longish oval shape, rounding out any bumps if needed. Look at the bun and decide which end looks best as the ‘face’ of the bunny.

Lay a pair of clean, sharp scissors almost flat against the top of the bun lengthwise. The points should aim for about 1/3 from the ‘face’ end of the bun. Snip two ‘ears’, taking care not to cut through the dough so the filling is exposed.

To make the eyes, poke small holes with a chopstick end and poke in an ice cream sprinkle in each hole. Don’t go too deep! (If you are in a hurry, just poke the holes and skip the chives.)

Place each bun on a piece of parchment paper, and place in a steamer well apart (they will puff up to about twice the size, and any touching parts will not be smooth). Steam for about 20 minutes. Eat while piping hot.

I found that the dough came out a bit more dry than what I am used to, and as Annie put it, "there is a flavor to the dough". I agreed and thought it tasted like sandwich bread. This isn't exactly a bad thing, it's just not what is expected from a steamed bun. If I were to make these again, I'd definitely try it with the dough I use for hua juan. Also, I'm not so sure I like the soy sauce added to the scrambled eggs; I think the bacon makes it salty enough, and I'd prefer the color of normal scrambled eggs rather than kind of brownish eggs that were in these. Lastly, I'd definitely not use the ice cream sprinkles for the eys next time. As you can see, the color started running when they were steamed, and they kind of look like goth bunnies or Bunnicula.

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Char Siu Bao

Liv and Ruth came over yesterday to make some bao zi, or more accurately, Ruth and I made bao zi and Liv washed the veggies, diced the meat, fixed my chairs, set up my HDTV, and cleaned up afterwards. I'm not complaining! =) At first we were going to just make veggie buns (su cai bao) and pork and cabbage buns, but I thought it might be fun to try to make char siu bao. I really like the big, fluffy, white char siu bao you can get a Cantonese dim sum, but after trying to find the recipe on-line, it looks like the only way to get that is with a Vietnamese mix, and I didn't really feel like heading back out to try to find some. And I was all ready to make char siu pork from scratch using a marinade of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, five spice powder, and honey, but then I found a jar of char siu sauce at the Asian grocery store, all mixed up and ready to go. So I copped out and bought that since, after all, this is my first time trying to make char siu, and I was making the dough from scratch.

Char Siu Pork
makes enough for 16 buns and one or two servings over rice

1.6 lbs. pork butt or shoulder (you want something fatty, pork loin wouldn't work)
1 (8.5 oz.) jar of char siu sauce

Cut the pork into long strips about 1 cm thick. Using a fork, prick the strips all over to tenderize and also to help the sauce marinate the meat thoroughly. Add 5 tablespoons of the char siu sauce and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 °F. Boil 2 cups of water.

Place the pork strips on a grilling rack in a single layer. (I used the racks from my toaster oven with a baking pan underneath.) Add enough boiling water to the bottom of the pan to come to a depth of 1/2 inch. Roast for 10 minutes.

Turn the strips with tongs and baste with more char siu sauce. Repeat every 10-15 minutes until the pork has roasted for at least a total of 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Slice the pork on the diagonal against the grain. You can serve the pork with rice and vegetables, on top of ramen, or use as a filling for char siu bao.

I liked how the sauce made the pork (artificially) red just like the kind you get from Cantonese restaurants, and the taste seemed similar enough, although the texture wasn't as crispy as what you get at a restaurant. Maybe next time I will try making this without the water bath or on a barbecue grill.

To prepare the char siu pork as filling for char siu bao, you'll need to dice the pork into small pieces and add a little more char siu sauce to bind it together.

Char Siu Bao

makes 16 buns

1 recipe for hua juan dough, mixed, kneaded, risen once, and re-kneaded
1 lb. char siu pork, either homemade or from a store, diced
2 tablespoons char siu sauce

Toss the diced pork with the char siu sauce, adding a teaspoon or two of warm water if necessary.

Divide the dough into 16 equal parts. Take one piece, roll it into a ball, and flatten with your hands. Stretch the circle out so that it is about the size of your palm. (You could use a rolling pin to do this, but there's no need.)

Add about 1 tablespoon of filling to the middle of the dough. Cup your hand so that the dough comes up around the filling. Using the hand not holding the dough, pinch a bit of the edge, pull it up and away from you. Then grab another piece further away from you and continue around the dough, rotating as you go. Once you have gone all the way around, twist what you have left between your fingers and seal.

Here is a (mostly silent) video of Ruth showing how to do it with her su cai bao:

Place the bun sealed side down on a square of parchment paper. Return the filled buns to the oven (set at the lowest possibly setting) for 20-30 minutes to proof.

Add water to your steamer (I use my stock pot with the pasta insert and steamer insert for two levels) and heat on high. Once the water is boiling, place the buns in your steamer and steam for 13-15 minutes.

I found that when I made this I had added too much char siu sauce to the diced pork so it was too salty, so I reduced the amount in the recipe above, and I would suggest adding a little water to dilute the sauce even further so that you have enough sauce to bind the meat all together.

If you're not going to eat all the buns right away, you can freeze them in a freezer bag and reheat them individually in the microwave for 1 minute, wrapped with plastic wrap or in a sandwich bag.

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Hua Juan (Steamed Scallion Buns)

By popular request, here is my mom's hua juan recipe. Hua juan are steamed buns flavored with scallions and twisted to look kind of like a flower (hua juan means "flower twist" in Mandarin).

It is a yeast dough recipe, so you'll have to plan ahead to allow time for the dough to rise and then for the shaped buns to proof. Also, you'll need a way to steam the buns; I use my stock pot with the pasta insert and steamer insert for two layers of steamy goodness.

Hua Juan (Steamed Scallion Buns)
makes 12 buns

For the dough:
1/2 packet yeast (a little more than 1 teaspoon)
3 cups flour
1 cup milk, warmed to a little hotter than a fever (can you tell this recipe is from my mom?)
3/8 cups sugar
1/4 cups vegetable oil

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons chopped scallions, green part only
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Turn on oven to lowest setting. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Mix in the rest of the ingredients for the dough and knead. Cover with a moist cloth or seal tightly and place in oven for 1 hour.

Mix together the ingredients for the glaze and allow to macerate.

Knead the dough again after it has doubled in size and then separate into 12 egg-sized pieces.

Roll each piece into a long oval and cut into long strips, leaving a 1/4" section attached at one end. Brush lightly with the glaze.

Twist and shape buns and place on square of parchment paper.

Let sit in oven again for another 40 - 60 minutes to proof.

Steam for 13 minutes.

If not not eating immediately, transfer to a freezer bag once it has cooled and freeze. To reheat, wrap with plastic wrap or put in a fold-and-close sandwich bag and microwave for 45 seconds.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can use the dough itself to make man tou (steamed bread buns) or stuff it with red bean paste to make dou sha bao. Once I even stuffed it with leftover dumpling filling and made rou bao zi.

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