Golden Rat Steamed Buns

Flavor: Original; Cooking Method: Steaming; Difficulty: Moderate.

Detailed Steps for Making Golden Rat Steamed Buns

Add sugar to the flour, mix 2-3g of yeast into warm pumpkin puree until dissolved, then use it to knead the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment in a warm place. I directly placed it in a pressure cooker to ferment. When I came back after running errands, I felt it might have fermented too much, not as good as fermenting in a bread maker.

Take out the well-fermented dough, knead it evenly to release the air, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Roll the dough into a long strip, evenly divide it into 4 dough balls, leaving a small portion for making the rat ears. Take one dough ball and shape it into an oval, slightly tapered at the front to form the head of the rat. As the dough is very soft, use a toothpick to mark the positions of the rat’s eyes and mouth, then gently poke small holes and insert a black bean into each hole for the eyes and mouth.

For the ears, shape small round balls as shown, then gently press with a finger to form the shape of the ears, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom. Dampen the thin part with water and attach it to the rat’s head to complete the ears. Slightly pinch the tail end to create the shape of a small tail, which can be long or short, up or down, as you like.

Repeat the process to make 4 little rat figures. They look good as raw dough, but it’s hard to predict how they will turn out after steaming.

Place them in a steamer, cover with the lid and let them rest for another 15 minutes. Add an appropriate amount of water to the pot, steam with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat.

Steam over medium heat for 15 minutes after the water boils. The process of heating with cold water is also a second fermentation process. When the time is up, open the lid and see that the steamed little rats look good, although the eyes seem a bit misplaced after fermentation.

Remove from the steamer and plate them. The golden color is quite festive. Friends who like them, hurry up and make them.