Changhua Ba-Wan

Method

1. 01

   Season and rest the filling

   Mix pork, bamboo shoots, shiitake, soy sauce, rice wine, 3 g sugar, and 2 g white pepper. Stir 60 seconds until tacky, cover, and refrigerate 20 minutes while preparing the wrapper.

   

2. 02

   Cook the rice-flour paste

   Whisk rice flour with 220 ml cold water in a heavy pan. Cook over medium-low for 4–5 minutes, scraping the corners, until the opaque liquid becomes a thick, partly translucent paste that holds a furrow.

   

3. 03

   Work in sweet potato starch

   Take the pan off the heat. Add sweet potato starch, 300 ml boiling water, and 30 ml oil in alternating additions, stirring and pressing until the hot dough is smooth, glossy, and very sticky with no dry pockets.

   

4. 04

   Line the molds

   Oil eight 10 cm shallow bowls. With wet or oiled spoons, spread 55 g warm dough over the base and 2 cm up each side, keeping an even 4–5 mm layer; cover unused dough so it does not skin.

   

5. 05

   Fill and seal

   Place 55 g filling in each centre without touching the rim. Cover with 35 g dough and smooth the top to meet the base layer, expelling large air pockets; the pork filling must be completely enclosed.

   

6. 06

   Steam until translucent

   Steam over steadily boiling water for 28–32 minutes. The wrapper should be evenly translucent and the filling at least 71°C. Rest in molds 8 minutes, then loosen with an oiled spoon.

   

7. 07

   Thicken the sweet-savory sauce

   Simmer 300 ml water, sweet chile sauce, and miso for 3 minutes. Whisk the cornstarch slurry again, pour it in slowly, and cook 1 minute until the sauce is smooth, glossy, and flows in a broad ribbon.

   

8. 08

   Unmold, sauce, and serve

   Rest the steamed ba-wan in their molds for 8 minutes, then loosen with an oiled spoon. Put one in each shallow bowl, spoon over 35–40 ml hot sauce, and serve while the wrapper is translucent and springy.