The peaks and peaks of the small cloud mountain,
Learner children often murmur.
Skin feels the power back to Tibet moisturizing,
Stay in the world full of joy.
This seven-sentence poem is from the hand of Cantonese point master He Shihuang, and it describes the Cantonese-style char siu bun that Cantonese people are familiar with. The first sentence vividly describes the shape of the traditional char siu bun, like the undulating snow-white peaks; the second sentence describes the scene of the children eating the char siu bun; the third sentence describes the quality of the char siu bun, the dough is elastic and rich in filling, juicy and lubricated, salty and sweet; the fourth sentence describes the feeling of diners eating the best char siu bun.
It can be seen that this char siu bun is so important in the minds of Cantonese people.
With the rapid development of the catering market, the traditional Cantonese char siu bun has gradually changed, and some diners have bluntly said: "The char siu bun on the market now is not a char siu bun at all!" At least, not a traditional char siu bun! ”
So, what exactly does a traditional Cantonese char siu bun look like? And how to make it?
Below, we have asked He Shihuang, a Master of Cantonese Dim Sum and the General Counsel of the 2020 China (Guangdong) Dim Sum Skills Competition, to preach, receive employment and solve puzzles for us.
He Shihuang, a Master of Cantonese Dim Sum and a meritorious figure in the Chinese catering industry
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > char siu bun, the mother of Cantonese dim sum</h1>
As we all know, char siu buns, shrimp dumplings, roast selling, and egg tarts are known as the four kings of Cantonese dian. Among them, the char siu bun is called "the mother of Cantonese dim sum" by the older generation of dim sum masters (shrimp dumplings are the "father of Cantonese dim sum"), and in the era when "one cup and two pieces" or even earlier, char siu buns have been people's "seat guests" in morning tea. Some people even exaggerated that the first dim sum that almost every Cantonese person eats is char siu bun.
According to Master He Shihuang, when and who the char siu bun originated from is impossible to study, but what is certain is that it comes from Guangdong, and it is carried forward here to become the basic dim sum in Cantonese points, so it can be called "the mother of Cantonese points".
He added that before the 1930s, char siu buns were not the current "burst mouth" shape, but were "grain mouth, bird cage type". Until the mid-1930s, baking powder gradually became popular, and char siu buns underwent a huge change - white, young eyes, soft face, natural bursting, slight dew, which became the most classic shape of char siu buns, and also became the most important criterion for measuring the quality of traditional Cantonese char siu buns.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the financing of monetary funds</h1>
Master He Shihuang said that there are some char siu buns on the market now, and the three petals on the top of them are like three sharp daggers, which is not passed. This kind of char siu bun uses char siu bun ready-mixed powder, simplifying the fermentation and other links, and the dim sum chef directly folds the dough into a triangle, so that the steamed bun shape is like a dagger. At the same time, the shape of this triangular char siu bun determines the filling capacity, under the same weight of the dough, the filling of the triangular char siu bun is less than half of the traditional char siu bun, and the taste is not rich enough, as if eating steamed buns. Moreover, this shape also causes the filling to easily fall into the wrapped bottom paper, and the lower end is exposed to the filling.
Triangular char siu bun
He told reporters that to make a traditional Cantonese-style char siu bun, you must first knead a good dough, and the past teacher Fu had a secret to identify the dough: one shot, two smells and three eyes.
The dough is properly neutralized by acid and alkali, there is a pull back and a crisp sound when photographed, there will be a slight alkali fragrance and noodle fragrance when the dough is struck, and when the dough is cut, you can also find that there are "eyes" (small holes) of different sizes and rounds. Only such a dough can make a good char siu bun.
He went on to say that the fermented noodles are highly acidic, so they need to be neutralized with alkali. If there is too much alkali, the dough is hard, and the "face" of the char siu bun is blue; the alkali is insufficient, the dough is too soft, there is no pullback when shooting, and the char siu bun cannot be raised. Therefore, the dim sum master should continue to learn, master the relevant chemical, physical and other principles of knowledge, learn from each other, and adjust his skills according to the actual situation.
"Unfortunately, there are too many dim sum chefs who can't use this method now." Master He Shihuang said bluntly.
Second, there must be old noodles. Nowadays, many people think that the old noodle seed is a magical thing that can be encountered and unattainable, so that the old dim sum master has to look for the old noodle seed everywhere when he changes the stage. Master He Shihuang said that in fact, the old noodles can be made by themselves, and the raw materials are very simple, that is, low gluten flour and water. As long as 500 grams of flour and 250 grams of water are kneaded into a dough, and it can be left at room temperature for two days to become an old noodle species, "water, noodle seeds and air contain trace amounts of bacteria." After contact with water, the flour is moisturized, so it grows, ferments, and loosens, generally taking 6-8 hours to produce microbial bacteria. He said that to do old noodles, we must set the time, the total amount, and the alkali, in order to avoid errors to the greatest extent.
Finally, there's the char siu filling. The char siu filling of the traditional char siu bun has a thinner ratio of 3:7, and it should be cut into the size of a nail slice, at the same time, every 500 grams of char siu filling should be filled with no less than 500 grams of char siu bun, which is made of oyster sauce, flour, water, raw oil, raw extract of borage, such a char siu bun can have juice, moisturizing and light.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > He Shihuang teaches you to make traditional char siu buns</h1>
The following is an excerpt from the "One Hundred Cantonese Poetry Poems" written by Master He Shih-huang, the traditional method of making char siu buns.
How to distribute the charges
1. Ingredient formula of noodles
50 grams of old noodles, 500 grams of low gluten flour, 250 grams of water
2. Ingredient formula of the skin
500 grams of noodles, 150 grams of sugar, 25 grams of water, 6 grams of alkaline water, 150 grams of low gluten flour, 1.5-2 grams of stink powder, 10 grams of baking powder
3. Ingredient formula of char siu bun
Low gluten flour 200 g, corn starch 100 g, lard 150 g, raw oil 150 g, light soy sauce 300 g, sugar 400 g, dried shallots 50 g, oyster sauce 100 g, pepper 5 g, chicken powder 5 g, monosodium glutamate 5 g, water 1900 g, tail oil 100 g
(This mustard has a big sweet, salty and fresh effect)
Preparation method
1. Method for making noodles
(1) Sift through 500 grams of flour, open the dough nest, add 50 grams of old noodle seeds and 250 grams of water, knead and mix until the dough is pure and smooth.
(2) In the environment of room temperature 25 °C -28 °C, fermentation for 7-8 hours, the noodle species is basically mature, becoming a tender noodle species.
2. The production method of leather
(1) Add sugar and stink powder to the lye water and water, and knead the noodles until the sugar is basically dissolved.
(2) Add 150 grams of low gluten flour, knead well, and add a small amount of water during the kneading process, the purpose is to make the dough softer and smoother.
3. The production method of char siu wrapped
(1) Use 500 grams of water to open 100 corn starch into a pulp and set aside.
(2) Mix the lard with the raw oil and slow fry 50 grams of dried shallots until the shallots are crisp and then scooped up.
(3) Pour 200 low gluten flour in green onion oil, stir well while frying, and in the process of pushing, add all the flavors such as soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, etc., and stir while pushing.
(4) Finally, the remaining 500 grams of water and 100 grams of corn starch into the powder pulp, slowly stir evenly, the flour is heated and gelatinized, becoming a light brown batter, it will be with the continuous increase of temperature and make the batter cooked thoroughly, when the batter foams and smokes, it can be poured out, and when it cools, it becomes a char siu wrapped.
4. Filling preparation method
500 grams of char siu add 500 g of char siu wrapped, mix well and serve.
5. Skin filling combined with shape
With 25 grams of skin, 20 grams of filling, divide the foreskin into pieces and then press thin by hand or open the thin with a puff pastry stick, wrap into the filling, cause a "cage type", pad a thin base paper, place it for 1-2 minutes, let the char siu bun slightly awake (natural fluffy), steam it with a fierce fire, and the steaming time of the 45-gram char siu bun is 8 minutes.
Production key
Must be made in strict accordance with the regulations, that is, the five determinations:
1. Fix the time of noodle planting
2. Fixed seed quantity
3, Constant temperature
4. Alkali
5. Timing of packaging
The fixed temperature is best to use the incubator or the air-conditioned room with a temperature of 26 ° C - 28 ° C, in order to achieve the white body, the pullback, the alkali aroma, the filling is rich, the color is bright, the delicious characteristics and the bright quality, so that he is complete in color and taste.
Graphic | Gong Zhinan
Some of the image sources are | Integrated network
Typography | Peng Rouqi