Pan-Fried Emerald Pandan Leaf Buns
Stuffed with goodness, these Pan-Fried Emerald Pandan Leaf Buns make for a great sizzling appetizer. Filled with savory and delicious flavors, these buns taste better with every bite! You can make these adorable and tasty buns for yourself, friends or family. The sensational jade green color for the outer wrapping of the buns achieved with our Suncore Foods® Emerald Pandan Leaf Powder. Give it a try and make your own Pan-Fried Buns bursting with fun!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup (235 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and rolling
1 tbsp Suncore Foods® Emerald Pandan Leaf Powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients:
2/3 cup warm water
1 tbsp oil
Veggies and Noodle Filling:
50g dry vermicelli, makes 2 cups rehydrated noodles
1/2 medium head cabbage (400g), makes 4 cups shredded
1 cup (65g) chopped chives
3/4 cup (90g) shredded carrot
1/2 cup rehydrated TVP (texturized vegetable protein) or sub minced mushrooms
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
30g/Piece of Dough, Roll Out:
2 tbsp of filling
Add 1 tbsp Oil
Add 1/2 cup water when cooking
Directions
1. Preparing the Dough – In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Create a well in the center and then pour in the warm water and oil while mixing. Keep mixing until a dough is formed. Knead for a few minutes until dough is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands. Shape the dough into a ball, then place it in a bowl. Cover it with a damp towel and let it rest for at least 1 hour.
2. Cooking the Filling – Soak the noodles in boiling hot water until cooked through. Chop the noodles into small ½ inch pieces. Drain excess water and set aside. Heat a pan. Add in 1 tbsp canola or other neutral oil. When the oil is hot, add in the chives, carrots, TVP/mushrooms, and cabbage. Cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes until the carrots are tender. Add in noodles. Pour in the soy sauce, salt, and oil. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Adjust seasoning based on desired taste. Transfer to a strainer to a bowl set aside to cool while you prepare the wrappers
3. Preparing the Wrappers – Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it a few times. Slice the dough into 12 pieces. Each piece will be around 30g. Roll or shape each piece of dough into a ball. To make a wrapper, press down on the ball of dough and lightly flatten it over the surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top and lightly coat your rolling pin with some flour as well. While holding both ends of the rolling pin, roll out the dough by moving the pin forward and backward. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the movement. Continue to roll out the dough until you have a wrapper that’s around 4 ½-5 inches in diameter. If you can’t make them into a perfectly round shape, that’s okay! Mine weren’t perfect but I was still able to properly fold the pies together. It really takes some time and practice to get a hang of making wrappers. Place the rolled out wrappers on a tray and cover with a dry towel to prevent them from drying out. Roll out the rest of the dough. Take a rolled out piece of wrapper and place around 2-3tbsp of filling into the center. With one hand, crease the edges of the wrapper while you pinch down the creases with the other hand. You can refer to the video for a better idea. Once you have gone around the edges of the wrapper, pinch and then twist to seal the buns. Place the bun on a flat surface and lightly press down the top. Afterwards, place back the bun on the tray and cover with a towel to prevent it from drying out.
4. Repeat for the rest of the wrappers.
5. Heat a pan with a lid, add in 1 tbsp of oil (for every 4 buns). When hot, add in the buns (creased-side first) and lightly press down. Leave to cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until it has a golden brown crust. Flip over and leave to cook until golden brown.* *Note: the number of buns per batch will depend on the size of your pan!
6. Prepare the lid of your pan. Using the lid as protection, carefully pour 3 tbsp of water into the pan and then immediately cover to prevent it from splashing due to the heat.
7. Leave to cook in the steam, until the water has evaporated, around 5-6 minutes. Take out the buns and repeat this step for the remaining ones.
8. Enjoy while hot! You can enjoy these with some sauce (recipe below) if you’d like!
9. Storage and reheating tip – Place the pies in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To reheat, you can pan fry them again with a splash of water or oven-toast in low heat. You can freeze the buns too and just reheat in the oven toaster or steam them before enjoying!