Notes:

I made the following this last weekend, and they were *excellent*. 3 of the buns are more or less a meal for me, and it makes 16. They freeze well; I cooked them first, and then reheated them for future use.

Preparation:

In small bowl, sprinkle yeast and sugar evenly over the lukewarm water; stir until yeast dissolves. let stand 10 minutes or until foamy.

In large bowl or in food processor, combine flour and yeast mixture and mix well, or process 1 minute. If mixing by hand, sprinkle work surface with the reserved 1 Tbsp flour; turn dough out onto work surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Spray large bowl with nonstick cooking spray; place dough in bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise until dough triples in volume, about 3 hours. Punch down and wrap in plastic until ready to use. Will keep 3 days in the refrigerator and up to 2 months in the freezer.

Marinade Preparation:

To prepare marinade, combine hoisin and chili sauces, wine, soy sauce, scallion, garlic, and ginger in bowl. Clean mushroom caps, and place top down on shallow dish. Spoon mixture into top, and allow to marinate for a few hours. (I just let mine sit while my dough was rising.)

Steam Buns & Sauce Preparation:

In large non-stick saucepan, add bell pepper, scallions, and garlic, and cook, stirring constantly, until peppers are soft, 5-8 minutes.

Chop mushrooms (the pieces need to be fairly small to go in the dumplings) and add, with marinade, to peppers. Add water chestnuts and hoison sauce; cook until most of liquid has evaporated, 3-4 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Sprinkle work surface with flour. Turn bun dough out onto prepared surface, knead 1 minute and roll into a log, about 16" long and 1 1/2" wide. Cut dough into 16 equal pieces and roll each into a ball.

Flatten each ball with the palm of your hand into a 3" diameter circle. Place a heaping tsp of

Repeat with remaining dough and filling, covering buns with plastic wrap.

WARNING: This takes a little practice, so I'd recommend that you plan on *not* serving the first 2 or 3 you make to company. =-)

Line steamer rack with cheesecloth or wax paper (I used cabbage leaves). Place in large shallow saucepan or wok; add 2" water, cover and bring to rolling boil. Arrange 8 of the buns at least 1" apart on prepared steamer rack; cover and steam until puffy, tender and cooked through, 15-20 minutes.

Repeat with remaining buns, adding water to pan as necessary. (I did this in my Black and Decker steamer, which only allowed for 4 dumplings at a time. I filled the water to the highest water mark, refilling after steaming 8 dumplings.)

Meanwhile, prepare dipping suace: In small bowl, combine soy sauce, 1 Tbsp water, the reserved scallions, the vinegar, the reserved garlic, and the hot chili oil, if using; sprinkle with cilantro, if using.

Serve freshly steamed buns immediately, with dipping suace on the side, or cool and freeze for later use. (To reheat, thaw until soft and steam until warmed through, 5 minutes.)

Enjoy! The recipe also says that you can use other veggies and sauces -- try chopping up your favorite ff Chinese dish and making it into a filling!

Servings: 16
Source: Patricia Thorp, 1995 Weight Watcher's Magazine
Submitted by: Recipe Group Member
Date: Jan 10, 1995

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