Steamed Buns w/ beans fillings
When i used to live in Indonesia , we had this street vendor selling bakpao , or , steamed buns , that has so many different fillings , such as pork , chicken , or red beans or yellow beans . My favourite was always the yellow beans . Few days ago i learned to make the fillings for chinese pastry , or kue pia . And it reminds me of home .. and so , i thought last night .. why not trying it for the steamed buns . Although this is using lima beans .. it still tastes delicious , i am sure we can always use the yellow beans they sell at asian market . But i have no time for that .. i used lima beans , from regular grocery store at Mexican Aisle .. I soaked the beans overnight , and peeled them off this morning before cooking it . I am pretty happy with the result .. i’ve made 16 of them and i froze half of it .
Here is what you need :
Soak 1 cup of lima beans overnight with a lot of water . Then peel them off the next day and put them in a heavy pot . Add about 1 1/4 cup of water and cook in medium high for 10 minutes until it boils with lids on . Once it started to boil , simmer down until it’s all soft and probably about 50 minutes . If you want it super smooth , use the food processor or else just mash it with potato mashed or spoon . The beans should be super soft . Add 1/2 cup of sugar , 1 tsp. of vanilla and a pinch of salt , boil until it’s thicken , it should started bubbling like crazy and remove from the heat . Let it cool totally before using for filling .
For the buns :
In a large bowl , add 1 cup of warm water , about 110 F , 2 tsp. of active dry yeast , and then 2 tbsp. vegetable oil , 2 tsp. sugar and pinch of salt . Mix well , then add 3 cups of flour , mix well with spoon then hand , take it out and knead by hand for 3 minutes , put it in the bowl , cover with plastic . Let it sit in a warm place for 45 minutes , take the dough out , to remove the gas , and then knead again for 1 minute , cover , let it sit again in a warm area for 20 minutes . Then take the dough out , and divide into 16 small balls , flatten it out with rolling pins and put the filling in . Let sit for extra 20 minutes before steaming them in a steamer . Steam high heat for 20 minutes .
