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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

SWEET POTATO VEGETABLE PAUS

Paus are good substitute for bread as breakfast for my family.  The first thing that comes to mind about paus is, 'Oh, paus are sweet' but it is not so.  It can be savoury, sweet or a mixture.  When looking at some pau recipes, I realised that paus with sweet fillings have less sugar in the skin dough and vice versa.

This is recipe an example but I reduced the sugar in the skin dough by more than 50% even though the filling used is savoury.   It is as tasty and turns out well too.  Moreover, the sweet potatoes do contribute some percentage of sweetness to it. These paus are for home consumption and the health aspect has to be taken into consideration, otherwise we might as well buy them from the stalls.
Made these for my MIL during the recent Winter Solstice Festival together with the Peach Longevity Paus
Verdict - these paus are soft, moist and naturally coloured by orange sweet potatoes.  The savoury filling blends well with the pau skin.  The pau stays soft even on the next day.  
Recipe Source - Y3K Cookbook 'Paus' by Coco Kong [modified]
Ingredients for the Filling
200 gm cabbage - finely shredded
200 gm yambean - peeled and finely shredded
100 gm carrot - finely shredded
100 gm long beans or french beans - finely sliced
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp cornflour + 50 ml water
Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp mushroom seasoning
  1. Heat oil in wok, fry the cut vegetables [except long beans/french beans] together with the seasoning until well mixed.
  2. Cover to cook until vegetables are soft then add in the beans.  Fry until cooked through. Taste to adjust seasoning.
  3. Stir in thickening and mix well until filling is thick and not too wet.  Dish up and cool before use [can prepare this earlier and refrigerate].
Ingredients for Pau Skin 
[dough weighs about 600 gm - makes 16 medium size paus]
280 gm pau flour
1 tsp double action baking powder
40 gm icing sugar [original recipe uses 100 gm]
160 gm orange sweet potato [peeled, steamed and mashed]
2 tsp instant yeast
120 ml water [more or less depends on sweet potato paste]
20 gm shortening
  1. Mix all ingredients together well [except water and shortening].  Gradually add in the water [stop adding once it forms a rough dough].  Continue to knead until the dough is soft otherwise add a little more water.  The dough maybe sticky and difficult to handle if too much water is added.
  2. Knead until well combined, then add in the shortening.  Knead until dough is soft and smooth.  Shape into a ball and cover to rest for 30 minutes.
  3. Divide dough into 16 equal portions.  Shape into balls, then flatten each into circles with the edges thinner that the centre.
  4. Wrap filling with each dough circles, gather the edges, seal well and shape into pleated or round [use a pincer to create the design] paus.  Place on paper cases.  
  5. Leave to proof for 40-45 minutes from making of the last pau.
  6. Steam over rapid boiling water for 10-12 minutes.  Off heat, leave paus in the steamer for 2-3 minutes before uncovering.  
  7. Serve immediately or cool on wire rack.
I'm submitting this post to Cook Your Books Event #19 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

20 comments:

Madeline said...

Good morning Kimmy. Yr pau looks lovely with the bright yellow color, like the sun :). Just wondering if the long beas or French beans turned brown when u reheat the paus?
Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Kimmy said...

Hi Madeline, yes they do otherwise they may have a raw smell and hard. Best to cook the vegetables until soft.

PH said...

Kimmy, I can never resist your paus! How nice if I can have a taste hee..hee...

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Wonder if I can replace the shortening with canola oil coz shortening is not healthy.

Alicia

Karen Luvswesavory said...

Hi Kimmy, these pretty yellow colour veggie pau looked so yummy-licious ^-^!
Hope you have a great year ahead ... wishing you & family a blessed New Year 2015 !

Kimmy said...

Hi Phong Hong, I will be pleased to share some with you. Maybe, we can have a "paus" party one day, hehehe!

Kimmy said...

Hi Alicia, yes you can but add the oil gradually into the mixing bowl as you knead. Sometimes, it will splutter all over if you forget to lower the speed while adding it.

Kimmy said...

Hi Karen, thanks for your well wishes. Same greetings to you and let's cook and eat healthy in the new year to come. Stay healthy while enjoying yummy food.

viv said...

hi kimmy! i'm new to your blog. am wondering how you pleated your bao. look so even n pretty.

Kimmy said...

Hi Viv, this bun is not pleated. I made the pau round then use a jagged clipper to clip the designs. Very easy especially when the dough is too soft to shape the pleats.

kitchen flavours said...

Hi Kimmy,
You are a wonderful daughter-in-law! Your paus looks wonderful as usual! And I like savoury ones too!
Thanks for sharing with CYB!

Kimmy said...

Hi Joyce, given a choice, I prefer savoury bao fillings. Homemade baos are soft, moist and chewy. They are healthier too minus all the whitening and rising agents.

lynn said...


Hi Kimmy,I have made these paus with success. I have double up to 32 paus.
The pau skin is easy to make and taste of the vegetables is very good.
I changed to turnips as I couldn’t get yam bean. Btw. What is yam bean?
It is the preparation of the filling that is taking longer time. I am happy with the end product 

I also made the chicken floss buns too. Thumbs up!

How long do you suggest of leave these pau and bun at room temperature ?

Thanks!

Kimmy said...

Hi Lynn, glad you like this pau. Yam bean is turnips [aka sengkuang or bangkwan or sar kok] the one we use to cook popiah filling. You can cook more of the filling to serve with rice and keep some for making paus. For this pau is 2 days cos' of the savoury filling whereas the buns you can leave them for 3-4 days, it is okay. Just steam the buns if you like it soft after all we don't use softener or preservative in them. Your family is lucky to have you making fresh paus and buns for them. Another tip - you can always prepare the dough and chilled it in the fridge a day ahead before shaping them to steam or bake. This way it won't be too tiring for you.

Lynn said...

I see. I thought yam bean is something else and kept on aruguing with the aunties in the market... Paiseh leh. Yes, I kept scooping the filling to eat as I find it so tasty. Will the veggies turn brown if I prepare 1 day ahead?

We all hope our family eat well and healthy. With home bakes that have no preservatives, good qualities ingredients used etc. We are more confidence of what we feed our body. With home bakes, at least, breakfast is one of the meal that i can control what my people eat other than meals that we are not eating together and that could be junk meal, who knows:) anyway, I very envious your family where they always have healthy homecooked meal and delious bakes to eat.
Q:Is it prepare up to the stage before proofing of dough that I can then store the dough in the fridge? If yes, need to proof it after taking out from the fridge and before shaping?

Lynn said...

BTW. How do u clipped the bun? Can show me the clipper?

Kimmy said...

Hi Lynn, looks like your thinking is similar to mine. Your family is very lucky too. Honestly, I'm worried about food prepared outside by foreign workers and outside food are no longer cheap compared to the quality we get. Answer to your question - yes, you can shape your buns or baos straightaway and proof before steaming or baking. I remembered I did post a photo of the pincer in one of my post. I'll add a photo of it in this post.

Kimmy said...

Hi Lynn, the veggies wouldn't turn brown but the beans will look greenish as at the time you store in the fridge.

Lynn said...

Ermmm... How to work with this pincer to get the pleat?

Kimmy said...

Hi Lynn, hold one end of the pincer with your thumb and index finger. Clip around the top of the round bao and you will get the design.