Friday, November 24, 2017

Baked Bao with Hoisin Turkey

Baked Bao are stuffed with a hoisin-soaked turkey mixture and baked to golden perfection. Hot or cold, they're a treat for lunch or an after school snack! 

Baked Bao with Hoisin Turkey

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday had a wonderful and thankfulness-filled holiday! For my part, I spent the whole morning writing my last final (yay for no more exams!) and by the time I got home I was glad cooking an elaborate meal was not a necessity. However, I still had to cook, because we had finished all our Thanksgiving leftovers ages ago. Tough life, eh?

Bao Dough

One of my favourite things to do with leftovers is to not simply re-purpose them, but transform them into another dish entirely. While grocery shopping, my mom and I were discussing some of the things she was exposed to while working overseas and in an office marked by a diverse mixture of cultures. One thing she mentioned having a few times (and missing in retirement) was Chinese dumplings. For one of her co-workers birthdays, the gang went to a dim sum-leaning restaurant serving a variety of these filled dough pockets: boiled, steamed, fried and baked. Knowing we had leftover turkey in the freezer and a glut of hoisin sauce (left over from a stir fry or two) in the fridge, I decided to give a baked version of the BBQ meat buns a shot. 

The recipe is ridiculously simple to prepare, although the ingredients may require a trip to your local Oriental market (we cook a lot of Asian-esque food at home, so these were all pantry items for us). It is also a fantastic multi-day friendly preparation, which I wound up doing since school and work had to be attended to. The filling was mixed, covered and chilled overnight, and in the time it took to come back to room temperature the next day the wrapper dough was made, risen and ready to go. The most intensive part of making this Thanksgiving revamp was the filling and sealing of the buns, which was made 100% easier with a disher / cookie scoop. As a bonus, the oil-rich dough moisturizes your hands like crazy and smells mighty fine to boot!


Hoisin Turkey


What's your favourite holiday leftover recipe? 
Do you stick to the classic turkey and gravy sandwich or do you completely rehash the meal?


Ready For Baking

Baked Bao with Hoisin Turkey
Adapted from Barbara Bakes
Makes 16
1 lb cooked turkey or chicken, finely diced or shredded
1 ½ tbsp honey
⅓ cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp pepper
5 green onions, sliced
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
---
Dough
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp instant yeast
3 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 eggs, slightly beaten
⅓ cup regular (untoasted) sesame oil
1 tsp salt
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with a dash of water


Filling:
  1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
Dough:
  1. Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
  2. Cover and let rise until doubled.
  3. Heat the oven to 400ยบ F.
  4. Knock back the dough and divide into 16 equal portions.
  5. Working one at a time, roll out each ball to about 3” diameter.
  6. Place a tablespoon of filling on the dough circle, gather the edges and pinch to seal your bun.
  7. Place buns, seal side down, on a lined cookie sheet and brush with egg wash.
  8. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 251.3
Total Fat: 7.1 g
Cholesterol: 54.6 mg
Sodium: 384.6 mg
Total Carbs: 31.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 14.2 g
 
Baked Bao with Hoisin Turkey

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