Sheng Jian Bao

Method

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1. Soften the gelatine, dissolve it in the warm stock with the wine, pour into a shallow tray and refrigerate 2 hours until firmly set. Chop it into small dice.

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2. Beat the pork with the soy sauce, wine, sugar, sesame oil, salt, white pepper and ginger in one direction for 2 minutes, until sticky.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

3. Fold in the spring onions and the diced aspic and refrigerate.

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4. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, warm water and salt and knead 10 minutes to a smooth dough. Cover and prove 60 minutes.

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5. Divide into 18 pieces and roll each into a disc thicker at the centre.

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6. Fill and pleat each bun closed, and set them seam up.

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7. Heat the oil in a wide lidded frying pan and set the buns in, seam up, just apart.

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8. Fry 2 minutes, until the bases are golden, then pour in the water and clamp the lid on at once.

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9. Cook 12 minutes, until the water has gone and the sound turns to a dry sizzle.

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10. Scatter with sesame seeds and spring onion, cook 1 minute more, and lift them out with a fish slice.

    Mark done

Chef’s Tips

• Aspic in the filling is the only way to get soup inside.
• Seam up, base down. The base is the crisp part.
• Lid on until the sound goes from bubbling to sizzling.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• A quarter-teaspoon of ground ginger per tablespoon of fresh is the standard ratio if you are working from the spice rack rather than a fresh root.
• Vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock makes this meat-free without changing the method, if that is what you need.

Pairing Suggestions

• Chinkiang vinegar with ginger
• Chilli oil
• A bowl of soup

Storage & Reheating

Freeze uncooked for 2 months. Cook from frozen with an extra 4 minutes under the lid.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.