Siopao – Filipino steamed dumplings

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• ¼ liter of milk
• 3 tbsp oil
• Salt
• 90 g sugar
• ½ cube of fresh yeast
• 500 g flour
• 2 eggs, hard-boiled
• Chicken breast fillet(s) and/or pork belly, vegetables as desired

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

Put the flour in a bowl and form a well in the center. Crumble in the yeast, add a pinch of sugar, and a little lukewarm milk. Cover the yeast-sugar-milk mixture with the flour from the edge and let it rise for a while. This takes about 10 minutes, then add all the other ingredients and knead well. The dough should not be too soft, meaning it shouldn’t stick to the sides of the bowl, but it shouldn’t be too dry either. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place until it has roughly doubled in size. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a round shape, about 5 mm thick. Add the filling and a piece of hard-boiled egg. Siopao can be filled however you like: with fried chicken breast or pork belly, all cut into very small pieces, perhaps with corn or beans, seasoned with pepper and soy sauce or fish sauce. Siopao can also be made with a purely vegetarian filling, as desired; the filling should not be runny. Fold the dough over the filling and form a ball. Place it seam-down on a piece of baking paper. Then steam for about 15 minutes, either in a bamboo basket over a wok or in a steamer with a sieve. It tastes good both hot and cold and is perfect to take to school.