Beautiful Ube Bao Buns

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“The Ubao”

After I ventured off to the realm of making siopao, like the Hotteok I knew that the possibilities would be endless. Of course, being an Ube Monster, I had to make this. I call it “the Ubao”. These Beautiful Ube Bao Buns will be the talk of the town. That is of course, if they make it out of your kitchen.

I remember devouring pork buns or siopao as a kid. Depending on where we bought them, the fillings were hit or miss, but I always loved the mantou (steamed bun). Especially when freshly steamed, I can probably eat a dozen without chewing. I think I salivated during Stephen Chow’s hilarious Shaolin Soccer, when he kept eating the steamed buns. You can watch this scene, from Shaolin Soccer for some inspiration. Singing and dancing while cooking is recommended, just don’t burn anything.

Mantou: Steamed Buns

If you search the world of the internet, you will find many different versions of mantou recipes. Many of them have similarities and some are easy to dismiss. It is hard to narrow it down to a sure shot recipe. I know for sure that I will be constantly playing with and making amendments to this recipe, for years to come.

I have tried both Active Dry Yeast and Rapid Dry Yeast to get a rise out of my dough. Many people say that Rapid Dry Yeast is easier to use, because there is no need to proof the yeast before using. This is true but it is not to say that Active Dry Yeast is more difficult. Proofing your yeast is an extra step but it is not hard to do. Moral of the story is, use what you have or buy what your store has. Don’t make multiple trips to find a certain one.

Flour Power

For the flour, I have tried cake flour and All Purpose flour. The cake flour has less proteins but it will still rise and it will also give your buns more of a fluff. In reality there is not much of a difference between the flours, my guess is the fact that they are being steamed versus baked like bread. The biggest difference is using bleached or unbleached all purpose flour. The taste will be the same but as you would imagine, the bleached flour will give you a white bun. Conversely, unbleached flour will be on the off white side.

There is an ongoing debate, at our house, between All Purpose flour and Cake flour buns. I like them both. If it is All Purpose Flour that you have in your pantry, then go with it, for you Beautiful Ube Bao Buns.

The Liquids

For the liquid portion of the recipe, I go with water. If you have to proof your yeast, be sure to not use cold water. I have seen recipes that call for milk, instead of water, or a combination of both. I love the idea of adding the milk flavor, though. So here is where my scientific thinking comes in play. Cake flour has less protein (needed for rising) but the addition of milk powder can make up for it. Not to mention, I am not adding to the liquid contents. I could be totally wrong here, but it tastes good. Lastly, for my oil ingredient, I go with a tablespoon of coconut oil. It makes my hands feel good when kneading.

Smart Cooking

When making your dough, you want to achieve a consistency that has a wet feel, but not sticky. Before letting it rest, to rise, you should be able to make a ball out of your dough, without getting dough stuck to your hands. At the same time, it shouldn’t be too dry. You shouldn’t see cracking, as you form it and folds should be able to mend together.

The best way to do this is by slowly adding your liquid contents. Form a well with your dry ingredients and pour 1/4 C of your liquid in and mix. Once that it is all dried up, do another 1/4 and repeat. Depending on how well you measured or if you packed your flour too much, sometimes less than a cup of water can suffice. This might be one benefit of using the Rapid Active Yeast. It is easier to reach your desired consistency by slowly adding your water. Trying to use guess work by adding flour to wet dough is more difficult.

The Ube Filling

This one is easy, especially if you are a fan of Korpino Feed and have used our recipes. Ube Halaya can go a long way as far as versatility goes. The key to adding halaya though is the making sure that you put in the right amount. As much as we all love that ube flavor, you also want to enjoy the taste of the sweet, steamed bun. You can divide your dough into 8, 10, or 12 equal pieces, depending on how big you want your buns. If you go with the 8, a tablespoon and a half of halaya is a good amount. One tablespoon is good for the 10 and probably 3/4 of a tablespoon is perfect for 12 (haven’t made them that small yet).

Unless of course, you are an Ube Monster, then all ratios are off and you can add as much as you want. just don’t go too much because your buns may split as they steam and rise. You can always put in just enough and then spread on more for each bite. One time I just made the mantou, for practice, and my son asked, “Hey where’s the purple filling?”. Yes, he’s an Ube Monster.

More good news for Ube Monsters! You are going to have lots of extra Halaya after making you Beautiful Ube Bao Buns.

Another great addition to the filling would be macapuno strings. Yum! Go easy on them though because of the syrup that they are sitting in is so sweet. The last thing that you want is for the syrup sweetness to over power the ube and steamed bun flavors.

Latik Topping

The topping is optional but it adds an attractive look and an additional, subtle coconut flavor. Latik is easy to make. It is coconut cream, cooked until it is reduced to crumbs. You will also get some coconut oil out of it, in case your lips need some natural chap stick alternative. When making the latik, be sure to remove it from the heat before it become too dark. As it sits in the sifter to drain, it will continue to cook for a bit.

After drained from excess the oil, place latik on a saucer. Before putting your buns in the steamer tray, dip the top of them on the latik saucer, to give it a nice coat.

Enjoy your Beautiful Ube Bao Buns. Remember, you only learn by trying. Do it and love the experience!

Kain na tayo!

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