Flower Cow Steamed Buns

Taste: Light; Cooking Method: Steaming; Time: One hour; Difficulty: Moderate.

Detailed Steps for Making Flower Cow Steamed Buns

Prepare self-rising flour for steamed buns and room temperature cold water.

Mix the flour and water with chopsticks until crumbly, then knead into a dough, no need to make it smooth, just form a ball.

Divide into 3 parts, with one large dough of 180g and the other 2 doughs around 30g each.

Add a little red beetroot powder to one small dough, knead into a smooth pink dough.

Add a little bamboo charcoal powder to the other small dough, knead into a smooth black dough.

Knead the large dough into a dough with a “shiny skin.”

Divide into 4 doughs of 40g each and 1 dough of 20g.

Roll the 40g doughs into rounds, shape into an egg shape with the top smaller than the bottom, gently press with palm to form a thick cake, this is the small cow head.

Arrange them on a steaming plate lined with cloth, cover with a plastic bag throughout.

Divide the pink dough into 4 small 5g doughs, use the rest for other decorations.

Knead the 5g dough into an oval shape, flatten, roll into a thin piece, the length should be able to wrap around the small cow face.

Apply cold water to the bottom 1/3 of the small cow head, stick the pink dough piece on top, trim off the excess at the bottom; dab a little cold water on the seam to prevent cracking after steaming.

Roll white and pink dough into raisin-sized balls, shape them into a date pit shape.

Stack the pink dough on top of the white dough, gently flatten, roll into an olive shape, cut in half at the middle, forming two small ears, pinch the cut side for a more three-dimensional look.

Apply a little water to the bottom of the small ears, stick them on top of the small cow head.

Then roll black dough into pea-sized balls, stick them on the pink face skin, use a small round stick to press out small nostril holes.

Apply water to the pink face skin below the face, press out the nostril holes with a small round stick.

Roll white dough into pea-sized balls, these are the eyes of the small cow.

Apply a little water to stick the eyes on, gently press with hand.

Roll pink dough into an olive shape, then split into two to form eyelids.

Apply water above the eyes, stick the pink eyelids on.

Roll black dough into pea-sized balls, sprinkle with a little flour, roll out thin dough pieces, these are the black spots on the cow’s body.

Apply water randomly on the head, brush the edges with water to prevent cracking.

Roll white and black dough into patterned long strips, cut into 8 small pieces, shape them into cow horn shapes with one end pointed and the other end thick.

Apply water to the bottom and stick the cow horns between the ears, adjust the curvature and direction of the horns; then roll 8 pea-sized black doughs, stick them on the white eyeballs.

Now it’s time for the mouth, originally planned to press marks directly on the mouth area with a stick, but at this point the dough has dried a bit, forcing marks may cause the dough to crack, so instead, roll pink dough into a thin strip, stick it on the mouth area, and press gently with a stick to create a smiling mouth, then stick a white dough as a big front tooth.

You can also roll it into a small ball, press a small dent to make a pouting mouth; all 4 flower cow steamed buns are now complete; they have started fermenting during the process, so let them ferment for another 10 minutes.

Roll the remaining dough into long strips.

Shape them into lollipop shapes and place them in the steaming plate with the flower cow steamed buns.

Place the raw buns in a steamer or steaming pot, steam for 18 minutes, then let them sit for 5 minutes.

Flower Cow Steamed Buns, one-time fermentation, soft and delicious!