Hua Juan (Steamed Twisted Rolls)
A Twist on Steamed Buns
Steamed twisted rolls, or hua juan is a simple breakfast dish with a light onion and savory taste. With a glass of soy milk and a bowl of plain rice congee, they make the perfect Chinese breakfast. No matter where in China you go to, people love them. Also, they're simple to prepare, making them a great dish to whip up in one's own kitchen.
What does hua juan mean?
Steamed twisted rolls, known as hua juan in Chinese, stem from mantou. The dough is rolled up to resemble a flower bud, thus giving the dish the name hua juan, or "flower roll".
There are many different kinds of steamed twisted rolls: sweet, savory, sesame-flavored, and more. In each kind, green onions are sprinkled in the dough, which is then folded up into a flower shape.
Steamed twisted rolls were originally seen as a staple food (like noodles or rice). After refinements and the introduction of ingenious preparation methods, they became a tea-time dim sum snack.
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Ingredients
- 4 ¼ cups (500 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 stalks green onion
Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) yeast
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar
- vegetable oil and salt to taste
Cooking Directions
Preparations
- Wash and chop green onions. Mix with a bit of vegetable oil.
How to make Hua Juan dough
- Add baking powder to all-purpose flour and stir evenly. Create a crevice in the center of the flour. Add yeast, sugar, and 1 cup water into this crevice. Stir until yeast and sugar have dissolved. Knead evenly together with the flour to create a dough with a smooth surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for approximately 2 hours, allowing the dough to double in size.
- Use a rolling pin to create dough skins approximately 1/3 inch thick. Brush a layer of salad dressing on top of each dough skin, and also sprinkle on a bit of salt and chopped green onions evenly. Fold the dough skins inward twice length-wise. Each time you fold it, the width of each folding should be 1/4 the width of the entire dough skin. Take the properly folded part and fold it in half one more time.
How to twist Hua Juan
- Cut the long strips into pieces approximately 2 inches long. Press down with both index fingers in the center of the dough piece. Pinch the first layer of patterns on each side of the dough piece. With one end of the dough piece in each hand, twist. Then turn both twisted ends downward, thus making the uncooked twisted roll shape. Set aside to ferment for 15 minutes.
Put it all together
- Lay down oil paper or moist gauze in a steamer basket. Place uncooked twisted rolls inside, leaving space between each one. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Add enough water to pot. Place steamer basket in pot. Steam over high heat for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for approximately 3 minutes, then serve.
- Tip: Steamed twisted rolls must be steamed quickly over high heat, and the lid cannot be removed during steaming.
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