Curried Chicken Baozi

I have been trying to improve these Instructable and a lot of your have suggested a more step by step process which i have tried to implement. with that being said lets get started :)

After a fair amount of experimenting with making Baozi, I came to the conclusion that you could put most things in them, so i have decided to start filling them with my favorite foods, this one being just a simple chicken curry. They work so perfectly because the make foods that often wouldn't be so lunch box ready, portable and mess free.

Stick these in your lunch, and take them to work or give them to your son or daughter as an exciting packed lunch, both your sets for friends and colleagues will surely be jealous when they look back at there boring old cheese sandwich.

I have taken some inspiration from the Japanese nikuman, sold in convenience stores over there, which contain a wide variety of exciting and weird fillings, like Pepperoni pizza Baozi (hint hint next instructable :D)

Still interested ?

The next stage goes in to more detail about how to prepare the dough, this will be rather light in detail as it will be the second time i have covered it.

This dough couldnt be simpler, you only need to ensure that all of the ingredients are properly mixed and that it has had enough time to rise.

Ingredients:

300ml warm water

1 packet yeast

2 tbsp sugar

450g flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

sesame seed oil

Picture 1. All the ingredients laid out

Picture 2. Place the flour in a bowl

Picture 3. add the yeast

Picture 4. add the Sugar

Picture 5. add the salt

Picture 6. add the sesame seed oil

Picture 7. add the water

Picture 8 form a soft dough

Proof for an hour.

This recipe makes enough dough for 12 baozi.

Ingredients.

500g Cooked Rice

500g Diced Chicken

3 Tbsps Fine diced ginger, sauteed

3 Tbsps Fine diced garlic, sauteed

2 Tbsps Turmeric

1 Tbsps Curry powder

1 Tbsp Coriander powder

1/2 Tbsp Garam Masala

2 Tbsps Cumin

2 Tbsps Tomato paste

250g Plain yogurt

1. In a large bowl combine all dried spices first.

2. Then add the wet ingredients (excluding rice and chicken).

3. Mix your marinade so that it forms a paste.

4. Finally add the raw chicken and the cooked rice, and ensure that it is thoroughly coated.

This recipe makes 12 baozi.

Picture 1. finished baozi dough

Picture 2-4. After allowing your dough to rise for 60 minutes punch the dough down so that your form a ball.

Picture 5-7. I find that the easiest way to split the dough equally is to roll it in to a log and then split it in half twice so that you get four pieces, then to cut the reaming pieces in to 3 pieces.

Picture 8. have your small squares of baking paper set aside

Picture 9. Then with the flat of your hand press them flat and finally roll them until they are a couple inches across. Finally place each piece of rolled dough on baking paper and then stack.

Picture 1. Add a table spoon amount to each baozi wrap.

Picture 2. Bring all the edges together at the top and then twist to secure.

Note. This can be quite tricky to master the first time around but if you cant get it to twist at the top properly remember that the most important thing is that it is sealed and that it will expand, which can help cover mistakes.

Picture 1. Finished steamed product.

Picture 2-4. if you don't have a steamer like me then place a small heat proof bowl in to a large pan, then place a small heat proof plate on top and fill below the plate with water

Picture 5. bring water to boil.

Picture 6. steam the baozi in the pan with the lid on for 20 minutes make sure that the water is boiling constantly.

Picture 7. remove lid before turning off gas after the 20 minutes. If you turn off the gas whist the lid is on water droplets will fall on the baozi and blister the surface.

Finally eat them whist they are still hot with a drizzle of sesame seed oil and soy sauce and some freshly chopped chives for so variation in colour. They also will work perfectly when cold for a packed lunch.

Thank you for reading , if you have any comments or queries please contact me and I will try to answer them as soon as possible.