Steamed Creamy Egg Custard Buns Recipe (Nai Wong Bao)
Egg Custard Buns - a Creamy Classic
Custard buns are a famous morning tea dim sum snack in the Guangzhou area. Cantonese people often order a basket of these sweet, creamy treats with their yum cha meal. Due to the sweet creamy taste, custard buns have become exceptionally popular in western countries in recent years.
How was Custard Buns Invented?
According to legend, custard buns – also known by their Cantonese name nai wong bao – were invented by eminent Hong Kong sinologist Tam Shek-wing. The original recipe included milk and salted egg yolk, giving it a rich, creamy, cake-like taste. When custard buns first appeared, there was a battle between Guangdong restaurants to see which one could recreate the recipe, so that today there are an incredibly diverse amount of ways to make custard buns.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 ½ tablespoons (40 grams) butter
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) powdered milk
Seasonings
- 2 teaspoons (10 grams) custard powder
- 1 teaspoons (3 grams) yeast
- 2 teaspoons (10 grams) wheat starch
- 1/3 cup (75 grams) white sugar
Cooking Directions
Preparations
- Crack eggs in bowl and beat well.
How to make custard buns filling
- Allow butter to become soft at room temperature. Add equal amounts of sugar to the butter 3 separate times, mixing until the sugar is dissolved. Add equal amounts of the beaten egg 3 separate times while stirring evenly. Add the wheat starch, powdered milk, and custard powder. Stir evenly until there are no chunks.
- Add an appropriate amount of water to pot. Over high heat, steam the custard mix (while keeping it separate from the water) for approximately 30 minutes or until it has congealed.
- Tip: While steaming the custard mix, use an egg beater to stir the mixture every 10 minutes before returning it to the pot. This is crucial to giving the custard filling the right grainy texture. Without doing this, the filling will be too chunky.
- After steaming, allow the custard mix to air dry. Refrigerate for about 1 hour. Take out from refrigerator and knead the mix into small balls about 0.35 ounce each. This is the custard filling.
How to make the dough
- Use warm water to activate the yeast. Add white sugar and salt. Mix evenly. Spread this over the all-purpose flour. Use chopsticks to stir in one direction evenly until it becomes a dough with a smooth surface. Cover in plastic wrap and let sit for 40 minutes.
How to make custard buns skin
- Knead the dough into long strips of even width, each one made up of about 0.35 ounce of dough. After kneading them into balls, press them slightly flat, then roll them into circular skins of appropriate thickness.
How to assemble custard buns
- Add a dollop of filling to the center of the dough skin. Use the area between your thumb and index finger to surround the edges of the skin tightly, gradually shutting it closed at the top and forming the shape of the finished custard bun.
Put it all together
- Place oil paper down in a steamer basket. Place uncooked custard buns into the steamer basket with their openings facing downward, leaving a bit of distance between each bun. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Add an appropriate amount of water to pot. Place steamer basket in pot. After bringing water to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium heat and steam for approximately 10 minutes. After that, turn off heat and let sit for 3 minutes, then serve.
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