Korean Steamed Pork Buns

Servings: 8
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
For dough:
All purpose flour
dry yeast
water
salt
sugar
vegetable oil

For filling:
Ground pork
soy sauce
sesame oil
sugar
black
ground pepper
garlic
onion
zucchini
carrot
green onions (or Asian chives)
white mushrooms

Directions:
Make the dough:
1. In a large bowl add 1 cup of warm water (under 40° Celsius, or 100° F), 2 ts dry yeast, ½ ts salt, 2 tbs vegetable oil, and 1 ts sugar. Mix well until the dry yeast is fully dissolved.

2. Add 3 cups of flour to the yeast water. Mix with a wooden spoon, then knead for 2-3 minutes.

3. Set aside in warm place until the dough doubles in size.
*tip: watch the video to see how you can make your dough rise faster!

4. After the dough has risen, knead it again for 1 minute to remove any extra gas. Set it aside in warm place with the lid closed for 30 minutes.

While we wait for this to rise, we can prepare the fillings:
1. In a large bowl, place:
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped carrot
1½ cup chopped zucchini
1½ cup chopped green onions
2 cups chopped white mushrooms

2. Sprinkle 1 tsp salt over top and mix it up by hand. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

3. Squeeze the excess water out.
*tip: using cheesecloth will make this easier. Wrap the chopped vegetables in cheesecloth and gently squeeze the water out.

4. In a mixing bowl, place:
400 grams (14 oz) of ground pork
1 tsp soy sauce
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp ground black pepper

5. Mix it by hand and set aside.

Let's cook!

1. In a heated pan, add 1 tbs vegetable oil and sauté the chopped vegetables for 2-3 minutes. Transfer them to a large bowl.

2. Heat up the pan again, and cook the seasoned pork for 3 minutes until fully cooked.

3. Put the pork into the bowl with the vegetables and mix it all up.

Now let's make the buns:
1. Split the dough into 16 smaller pieces.

2. Take a few dough balls and put them on a floured cutting board. The rest of balls should be in the bowl with the lid closed, to prevent them from getting dried out.

3. Roll out each ball into a disk 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter.

4. Place a disk into your palm and add 2-3 tbs of filling mixture to the center of it.

5. Lift the edges of the disk up around the filling, then press the edges together to seal the filling snugly inside the bun.

6. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, until you've made 16 buns.

7. Put 6-7 cups of water in the bottom of a large steamer and place each bun on the rack.
*tip: Place cheesecloth or cotton cloth on the steamer rack before adding each bun.Baking cups also work well. When you place the buns on the rack, leave a 1 inch gap between them because they will get bigger when steamed.

8. Wait for 20 more minutes to let the dough rise even more.

9. Bring to a boil over high heat, and steam for 20 minutes.

Dipping sauce:
1. Combine 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tbs of vinegar, and 2 ts sugar in a small bowl.

2. Add some chunks of onion (½ cup), chunks of green chili pepper, and roasted sesame seeds.
When the buns are cooked, turn off the heat and remove the lid to prevent water from the top of the lid from dripping over the buns.

Serve with the dipping sauce, and enjoy!

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/jjinppang-mandu