Chicken Pau 鸡包

Photo: Anncoo

Ingredients

Prepare Chicken filling

Preparation

Ingredients for Skin (adapted from No Frills Recipes)

Gm Pau flour/Hong Kong flour

Flat tsp yeast

Ml lukewarm water

Gm caster sugar

Tsp shortening (I used mooncake shortening)

Flat tsp DA baking powder

Tsp salt

Ml water + 1 tsp (I used fresh milk)

Preparation

Mix dried yeast with lukewarm water, stir.

Add in 130 gm sifted pau flour, mix well and roughly form into a ball of dough. Set aside for 15 mins.

Mix the balance 370 gm sifted pau flour with the baking powder, sugar and salt.

Pour (B) into (A).

Add in shortening and water sparingly, knead till dough doesn't stick onto the hands.

Cover dough with a wet cloth, place in a warm place and let dough prove till double in bulk, around 1 hr to 1.1/2 hr.

Knock dough to expel some air, knead for some time. Roll out onto a floured board. Weigh out 50 gm dough, roughly form into a ball. While you are working with a ball of dough, cover the rest with a damp cloth to prevent them from being exposed to air and getting flaky. Makes 18 pau.

Roll out the ball of dough lightly and cup it into the palm of your hand and spoon in some filling. Pleat up the sides of the pau. Put the pau on a piece of greaseproof paper and place them on the steamer rack.

Set them aside for another 15 mins, and meanwhile prepare the steamer with water.

Steam pau under rapidly boiling water for 10-12 mins.

Quickly and carefully remove the steamer cover so that condensed steam will not drip onto the pau.

Remove the pau from the steamer rack and serve hot.