Meat Dragon (大肉龙)

The lazy person's Baozi.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• AP flour (中筋面粉), 230g

• Salt, 1/4 tsp (0.5%)

• Instant dry yeast (即发干酵母), ½ tsp or 2.3g (1%)

• Water, 126g (55%)

For the Sichuan peppercorn water:

• Sichuan peppercorns (花椒), 1/2 tsp

• Hot boiled water, 6 tbsp

For the meat filling:

• Pork, 30% fat (梅肉, 三肥七瘦), 200g

• Dacong, a.k.a. Welsh onion (大葱), 25g. Can be substituted with the white part of scallion.

• Ginger (姜), 25g

• Dry fermented bean paste (干黄酱), 15g

• Sichuan peppercorn water from above

• Liaojiu aka Shaoxing wine (料酒), 1/2 tbsp

• Dark soy sauce (老抽), 1/4 tsp

• Salt, 1/8 tsp

• MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp

• Chicken bouillon (鸡粉), 1/4 tsp

• White pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/4 tsp

• Toasted sesame oil (香油/麻油), 10g

Process

For the dough:

Combine all the dry ingredients, and drizzle in water. When it becomes small grainy bits, press to combine into a ball. Transfer to a working surface and knead for 5-6 minutes until smooth-ish. Put back to the bowl, cover to raise for 1 hour.

For the Sichuan peppercorn water:

Soak the Sichuan peppercorn with 6 tbsp hot water and cover. Allow to cool down to room temperature.

For the meat filling:

Peel off the skin of Dacong Welsh onion and ginger. Cut the Welsh onion in half length wise and cut each half again into 4 sections. Then mince into 1/2 cm pieces. Mince the ginger.

Cut the pork into slivers then a dice, then mince into a paste.

Add in all the seasoning besides the Welsh onion and toasted sesame oil. (Remember to discard the Sichuan peppercorn kernels in the water.)

Mix everything well, and stir in one direction for a couple minutes till the meat mixture gets sticky, then add in the Welsh onion and toasted sesame oil, mix well and set aside.

Wrapping and Steaming:

Move the dough onto a working surface, press it down evenly with your palm. Use a rolling pin to press a cross at the center of the dough, use that as anchor point as you roll out the dough. Roll out in one direction for length then twist 90 degrees and roll out a couple times for width.

Keep rolling it out, periodically focus on the thicker four edges and try to shape it into a rectangle-ish shape. When the dough is evenly rolled out into a 40cm long, 25cm wide and 2-3mm thick sheet, evenly dot the fillings on the sheet.

Smear the filling out as if you’re flattening a cake batter, leave 2 cm on for far end from you, and 3-4 cm on the remaining sides.

Grab the far end, fold it over with a fold that’s about 1 inch, gently pat it down. Then repeat the fold and pat motion till you reach the side close to you without filling. Grab the log, twist outward 90 degrees. Grab the remaining dough sheet, tuck and fold it over onto the log, pinch at the center, and start pinching to seal towards both ends. Once the log is completely pinched closed, use a rolling pin and press down on both ends to seal the edges. Optionally trim the ends to make it look like dragon head and tail.

Line a steamer with a dry cheese cloth or parchment paper with holes on it (so that steam can pass through). Transfer the log onto the steamer, arrange it in a curl. Cover and rest over 35C water for 20 minutes. After that, turn the heat to high, bring the water to a boil. Once steam is coming out from the steamer, turn heat to medium high, let it steam for 20 minutes.

Twenty minutes later, heat off and let it sit inside for 2-3 minutes. Take the whole steamer out and transfer the meat dragon to a serving or chopping board. Cut along the curl into 4-5 cm wide pieces. Serve immediately.