Mom's Chinese Green Onion Sesame Buns (Sao Bing)

My mom makes these Chinese Green Onion Sesame buns on occasion and I love it when she does! For all of you Chinese people out there, the buns are my mom's version of Sao Bing (my own personal phonetics). We typically eat this for breakfast/brunch with a bowl of soupy rice and a bunch of sides. You can fill it with Chinese braised meat (loo niew zho) or these fried crueller sticks (yo tiao). Yummmm....

Chinese Green Onion Sesame Buns (Sao Bing)

Ingredients:
2 T. yeast
2 T. sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup extra water
6 cups flour
2-3 bunches of green onions
Olive oil
1 beaten egg
Sesame Seeds

Instructions
1. Mix 2 T yeast, 2 T sugar, and 1 cup warm water together
2. Let rest till mixture bubbles up + rises


3. Add it to 6 cups of flour in mixer bowl
4. Add remaining cup of water to yeast mixture (so none is wasted), then add to mixer bowl (thus total of 2 cups water in mixer bowl)


5. Use mixer - Mix until dough is certain consistency


6. Cover mixer with wet paper towel (not onto the dough itself) and let the dough rest. Dough will rise about double in size
7. Mix dough again (will collapse)
8. Let dough rise again until back to double its size


9. Chop 2-3 bunches of green onions
10. Add about 1-2 T of olive oil (to generously coat the green onions)
11. Season green onions with about 1 teaspoon of salt (or to your liking)
12. Flour board
13. Take dough and split into equal parts
14. Using rolling pin, roll flat (edges should be thinner)
15. Add green onions into center


16. Fold into pocket


17. Add egg wash to top of pocket
18. Dip into sesame seeds


19. Place onto plate or baking sheet


20. Gently heat cooking pot and coat bottom pot with olive oil (low-medium heat)
21. Place sesame side of bun down into oil and fry until slightly golden
22. Flip bun onto other side
23. Add approximately cup of water to bottom of pot (water about 1/2 way up buns to sort of steam the buns).
23. Carefully watch until water boils off and bottom of bun is golden brown as well
24. Flip again in pot one more time if you want the top to be slightly crispy
25. Remove from heat and allow the buns to slightly cool down (but still warm)

26. Slice bun in half and fill with braised meat or whatever you would like
27. If using braised meat, add a few sprigs of parsley and sliced raw green onion



I will post the braised meat recipe at a later date. If it sounds too difficult, try to go to a dimsum place or an authentic Chinese restaurant on a weekend morning since they may serve something like it! :)

Isn't home cooked meals from mom the best? Chinese food is actually amazingly diverse and so delicious. Its not usually Kung Pao Chicken, Orange Chicken, or Chicken and Broccoli that most people think of when they want Chinese food. The Chinese food I eat at home is completely different! Truthfully, I occasionally will crave me a little Panda Express. But thats because most Chinese people do not make that type of food at home. At home, I'm eating homemade dumplings, delicious braised meats, noodle soups, buns, all differently flavored foods...

If I had one piece of advice that I'm trying to do now (wish I didn't wait this long!!), if you can, is to learn from your mom how she cooks and what she cooks since she has a wealth of experience, knowledge and recipes!! My goal is to learn how to cook more authentic Chinese food since that is one of my favorite foods. I want to be able to share this with my future kids and to expose their palates to the wonderful flavors of Chinese cooking.