Egg Yolk, Pork Floss, Mashed Taro, and Red Bean Bun

Taste: Sweet and Salty; Technique: Baking; Time: Several Hours; Difficulty: Moderate.

Cooking Steps for Egg Yolk, Pork Floss, Mashed Taro, and Red Bean Bun

1. Prepare the ingredients for making the bread. The dough needs to undergo two fermentations before baking for a finer and more elastic texture. While the dough is fermenting, it also allows sufficient time for preparing the fillings.

Pour milk, yeast, bread flour, egg, sugar, and salt into the stand mixer bowl in order. Be careful not to let sugar and salt directly contact the yeast, as it may affect the fermentation process.

Start the stand mixer to knead the dough. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also knead the dough by hand.

After kneading into a smooth dough, add corn oil and continue kneading until fully absorbed and the dough is elastic. Cut a piece of dough that can be stretched into a slightly thick membrane. This state of dough is perfect for making small buns. If making toast, continue kneading until it reaches the fully expanded stage, where you can stretch a thin, non-easily breakable membrane.

Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it ferment at room temperature for the first time. In summer, room temperature fermentation is sufficient, but in winter, it’s best to place it in a preheated oven for consistent fermentation.

After about 50 minutes, the dough should double in size, indicating the completion of the first fermentation.

While the dough is fermenting, prepare the fillings. Get the salted egg yolks, sweet beans, pork floss, and peeled and chopped taro ready.

For the mashed taro filling, prepare all the ingredients.

Pour glutinous rice flour, cornstarch, and granulated sugar into a large bowl, mix until smooth, cover with plastic wrap, and steam with the taro chunks in a steamer over high heat for 25 minutes.

While steaming the mashed taro and taro paste, deflate and knead the dough that has completed the first fermentation, divide it into 9 equal pieces of about 75g each, shape into balls, and let them rest for 10 minutes.

Heat the salted egg yolks in the microwave on medium heat for 30 seconds, repeating about 3 times until the yolks are cooked, then set aside to cool. Mash the steamed taro into a paste. While the mashed taro filling is still hot, mix in the butter, stir well, and let it cool.

Next, start wrapping the fillings. Place a small piece of mashed taro, taro paste, a salted egg yolk, a little sweet bean, and pork floss on a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up, and twist into a ball.

Roll out a piece of rested dough into a round disc and place the prepared filling in the center.

Like making dumplings, gather the edges while pressing the filling inward, then tightly seal the edges.

Place the sealed side down on a baking sheet, leaving some space between each bun, and let them undergo the second fermentation in the oven.

Set the fermentation temperature to 28 degrees Celsius and ferment for about 30 minutes.

When the buns have expanded to 1.5 times their original size, brush a little egg wash (beaten egg with water) on the surface, then sprinkle some desiccated coconut.

Return the buns to the middle rack of the oven and bake at 160 degrees Celsius for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.