As I hope you’ve managed to do, we’ve had a proper gorge session this Christmas. As with most, there was a definite over-catering going on on the big day, which inevitably means a lot of leftovers.
There’s not much that’s appealing about cold, day old turkey or goose fat sitting at the bottom of a dish in the fridge. But it’s unbelievably easy to revive leftovers for a Boxing day feast. And this year we did just that.
Inspired by a recent recipe from one of my culinary faves Jamie Oliver, we created some homemade steamed Chinese ‘bao’ buns. But in a pocket shape rather than the more common filled variety. That way you get a fun Boxing day DIY family meal as well as a delicious way to make the most of leftovers.
Like the classic Chinese crispy duck and pancakes, these have all the same flavours but in a more filling and soft guise.
Ingredients for the bao (from Jamie Oliver’s recipe, but these can also be made with baking powder and water rather than the milk):
400ml semi skimmed milk
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
7g yeast
700g 00 flour (but plain flour does work)
50g butter
1 tbsp caster sugar
sesame oil
Stacked Chinese steamers
Ingredients for the filling:
As much leftover meat (turkey, duck or goose would all work really nicely, we used goose) as you can salvage from your carcass. Shredded into small pieces.
1 tbsp Chinese 5 spice.
Hoisin sauce (fine to use bottled, we found the Itsu one really nice).
Finely sliced cucumber and spring onion.
1. Mix all the ingredients in an electric mixer or by hand in a large bowl until everything is combined and you have a smooth elastic dough.
2. Knead the dough carefully, then place in a large bowl (large enough to allow the dough to double in size). Leave to prove for 1 hr.
3. After proving remove the dough and knock back, then leave to prove another half hour covered.
4. Once ready, remove the dough and on a floured surface, separate into 20 equal pieces and roll each into a ball.
5. With a floured rolling pin, roll out each ball to a 5 inch oval.
6. With a pastry brush, brush one half of the oval with a tiny amount of sesame oil, then take a chopstick (slightly oiled) and place in the middle and fold over exactly in half over the chopstick.
7. Cut small pieces of baking paper just large enough for each of the buns to sit on in the steamer. Place each of the folded buns onto an individual piece of baking paper.
8. Boil a pan of water large enough for stacked Chinese steamers on top.
9. Assemble the steamer baskets with as many buns as you can fit in each without any overlap.
10. Steam for 10-15 mins or until fluffy, cooked and glossy (don’t allow to brown).
11. In a dry frying pan, place all your meaty leftovers, add the five spice and fry until hot through and crispy.
12. Serve the buns with cucumber, spring onion, any salad you fancy and hoisin sauce.
13. Lay out all the ingredients and assemble the buns with sauce and filling. Et voila! A delicious Boxing day treat.
Happy Holiday eating everyone! 🎄🎁🎉🎅🍗
