Come! Enjoy a childhood moment!
’Beautiful Bread’ is this week’s SCC theme, chosen by amazing highly-educated and multi-tasking mother @jaymorebeet — the judge! She also happens to be a kickass bread-maker..which is why I'm not surprised at the theme she picked!
Growing up in Singapore...
Steamed pau (steamed Chinese buns) with assorted fillings (chicken, red bean, lotus seed, yam, charsiew, etc.) was a staple in my life. As a child, my all-time favourite was the steamed yam pau. Think light, fluffy, purple steamed buns with perfectly-crimped tops hiding a rich creamy yam paste inside. Yum!
I used to break open the buns and slowly lick out the paste, before enjoying the paste-coated steamed bread.
Even as a university student on a budget, steamed yam paus were a constant companion. During class breaks, I would dash over to the Cheers Convenience Store conveniently located across the road and head for the ‘Steamed Dim Sum’ section. Toting a paper bagful of delightful little purple steamed buns (0.70 cents apiece), I would scurry back to my classroom to satisfy and fill my tummy.
So, as you can see, this steamed pau entry is beautiful to me in many ways — for its memory, for its taste, and for its appearance.
I wasn’t able to find purple yam in any grocery store in Germany. So I decided to improvise and fill my steamed buns with a delightful sweet potato custard filling instead. I made little piggies because I thought they’d be cuter and easier to make than the typical crimped ones. =P
DISH NAME
Sunburnt Piggy Paus with Sweet Potato Custard Filling
I coloured my pau dough with beetroot puree, hoping to get a lovely pink tint. Too much! The purplish-pink uncooked dough became a deep maroon-red when steamed through!
Normal pigs are pink, grey, or black. These maroon ones look like they spent a couple hours too many under the strong midday sun! Hence, the name.
Ingredients for the Pau Dough
265g plain flour
35g tapioca starch
20g white sugar
2.5 g sea salt
3g baking powder
3g fresh instant yeast
15g vegetable oil
210g beetroot puree
Black sesame seeds
How to make the Pau Dough
Boil beetroots on medium-high heat till cooked through (40 min). Drain and peel by rubbing the skin off with a paper towel. Blend into a puree.
Sift plain flour, tapioca starch, sugar, salt, and baking powder twice (they must be well-mixed!) into a mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer bowl). Add remaining ingredients.
Using dough hook, mix on lowest speed till rough dough forms (1 min). Then increase speed to medium-high until you get a smooth, elastic dough ball (6 min).
Remove dough and knead lightly into a smooth round ball, place in a lightly-oiled mixing bowl, cover with damp tea towel, and let it rest in a 35°C oven for 1.5 hr to proof.
Put dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Flatten the dough to release trapped air bubbles, and roll into a log shape. Divide the dough into 40g-portion balls.
Using your palm, flatten each dough ball into a small disc with your palm, make the edges thinner and the centre portion thicker. Wrap each dough with 20g of sweet potato paste. Pinch and seal the seams. Place dough seam side down on a square piece of parchment paper.
Using extra dough bits, add ears, snouts, and tails to the piggies. Press in two black sesame seeds for the eyes.
Place buns spread out on steaming tray (they should not touch one another!). Steam at 100°C for 10mins. Enjoy!
Ingredients for the Sweet Potato Custard Filling
220 sweet potato, cut into elongated cubes
50g unsalted butter, cubed
3g sea salt
30g coconut cream
40g sweetened condensed milk
15g dry milk powder
How to make the Sweet Potato Custard Filling
On medium heat, stew sweet potato cubes in salt and butter in a covered pot till mushy soft (25 min). Transfer contents into blender and add in coconut cream and sweetened condense milk. Blend till pureed.
Mix in milk powder. Let mixture cool.
Try not to eat the entire bowlful before you use it. To prevent this, pop the filling into the refrigerator till you need to use it. =D
Enjoy the little sunburnt piggies fresh!! =D
'We want to see the beautiful crumb,' she said!
Here you go! =D
Slightly chewy, fluffy yet with a moisture only attained with steaming, soft and fragrant. It's no wonder I ate 3 piggy paus right away!! The Mann took a cheat-day from his no-carb diet to enjoy a couple too. =D
Big shoutout to @woman-onthe-wing! Without her, this contest would not be going strong into its 42nd round.
Of course, as Steemit's most established cooking contest, the support and sponsorship is real! Our gratitude goes out to @gringalicious (who sponsored my third place reward for the SCC Round #41), @sirwinchester, and recent sponsor @englishtchrivy, as well as all contestants, upvoters, resteemers, word-spreaders past and present.