Tonight on Front Porch Kitchen Chronicles, we embarked on a culinary adventure into the heart of Chinese cuisine with a twist – pan fried buns. While traditionally these buns are filled with savory meats, we decided to switch it up by using ground chicken. It was our first time making these buns live on our Twitch stream, and what an exhilarating experience it was!
Now, we must confess, we’re not particularly fond of frying things. However, as friend Justin pointed out, pan frying isn’t quite the same as deep frying; it's more akin to frying eggs. With that reassurance, we dove into our cooking escapade with renewed excitement.
Let’s delve into the recipe, shall we?
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Yield: Makes approximately 38 buns
Ingredients:
For the Buns:
453 g all-purpose flour (approximately 2 cups)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons dried instant yeast
252 ml lukewarm water
For the Filling:
450 g chicken breast
3.6 tablespoons spring onion, finely chopped
½ onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic
0.9 tablespoon ginger, minced or powdered
3.6 teaspoons light soy sauce
0.9 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
0.9 teaspoon sesame oil
0.45 teaspoon salt
1.8 pinch ground Sichuan pepper or Chinese five-spice powder
9 tablespoons water or chicken stock
For Frying:
1.8 tablespoons cooking oil (we used a combination of Ghee and Avo Oil)
432 ml water (approximately 1 cup)
For Garnishing:
Toasted sesame seeds
Spring onion, finely chopped
Instructions:
Prepare the Bun Dough:
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and instant yeast.
- Gradually add lukewarm water and knead until a smooth dough forms.
- Cover and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
Make the Filling:
- In a separate bowl, mix together ground chicken, spring onion, diced onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, salt, Sichuan pepper, and water (or chicken stock).
- Ensure the filling is well combined and set aside.
Assemble the Buns:
- Divide the dough into small portions and roll each out into a circle.
- Place a spoonful of the chicken filling in the center of each dough circle.
- Fold the edges of the dough over the filling and pinch to seal, creating a bun shape.
Instant Pot Saute Fry the Buns:
- Heat cooking oil in a large Instant Pot over medium heat.
- Carefully place the buns in the skillet, seam side down.
- Cook until the bottom is golden brown, then carefully flip and cook the other side.
- Pour water into the Instant Pot, cover, and pressure cook for 5 minutes allowing the buns to steam until the water evaporates and the buns are cooked through.
Serve and Garnish:
- Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and finely chopped spring onion over the cooked buns.
- Serve hot and enjoy the delicious flavors!
Chef’s Notes:
- To prevent the filling from bursting out during cooking, ensure the bottom portion of the bun is slightly thicker.
- If you find yourself running short on filling, consider making a few extra buns with thicker dough.
Experiment with different fillings and variations to suit your taste preferences. Whether enjoyed as a snack, appetizer, or part of a meal, these pan fried buns are sure to delight your taste buds and impress your guests.
We’d love to hear about your culinary adventures with this recipe. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
Join Us Next Time: Missed out on today’s episode? You can check out our episode on our twitch! We’ll be hosting our Front Porch Kitchen Chronicles Twitch Live Show weekly, with requests taken for future episodes. Stay tuned for more culinary adventures!
