Mugwort Steamed Buns
Try These Mugwort Buns' Unique Taste
In Hakka Chinese, "ban" is the word used for pastries made with glutinous rice flour and rice flour. Mugwort steamed buns – ai ban – are an essential food for celebrating Tomb Sweeping Day in Chaoshan, Guangdong. For that reason, they're also known as Tomb Sweeping ban. The first month of spring in the Chinese lunar calendar is the best time for growing mugwort. After picking mugwort, it is then mashed together with glutinous rice flour and rice flour to make the main ingredient for mugwort steamed buns. Not only is the dish soft and delicious, but it has a unique mugwort flavor.
Classic Technique
Mugwort steamed buns are typically divided into ones with sweet filling and ones with savory filling. Sweet mugwort steamed buns use fried peanuts, sesame, desiccated coconut, and sugar. Savory mugwort steamed buns use daikon, cured meat, shiitake mushrooms, dried shelled shrimp, dried shiitake mushrooms, and salt.
Ingredients
- 10.58 ounces (300 grams) mugwort leaves
- 5 ½ cups (600 grams) glutinous rice flour
- 1 ¾ cups (200 grams) rice flour
- 7.05 ounces (200 grams) peanuts
- 3.52 ounces (100 grams) black sesame
- enough Japanese banana leaves to cover the bottom of the steamer basket (optional)
Seasonings
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
- appropriate amount peanut oil
Cooking Directions
Preparations
- Wash Japanese banana leaves. Cut into small pieces.
How to make the filling
- Heat pan. Fry peanuts until aromatic and peanuts blacken slightly. Remove from pan. Allow to cool, then remove shells. Place in blender. Blend into ground peanuts.
- Wash black sesame, then strain away water. Fry in hot pan until aromatic.
- Mix ground peanuts, black sesame, and sugar. This is the filling.
How to make mugwort dough
- Wash mugwort leaves. Cook in 1 ½ cups (350 milliliers) boiling water. Strain leaves from water. Save water for later use. Place boiled mugwort leaves in blender. Blend into a puree.
- Mix water used for boiling mugwort leaves with sticky rice flour, using chopsticks to stir in one direction. Then evenly add rice flour. Add mugwort leaf puree and a bit of peanut oil. Stir repeatedly, creating a dough with a smooth surface.
How to assemble mugwort steamed buns
- Divide dough into pieces of equal size. Shape into balls, then press flat. With two fingers, pinch into slightly thick dough wrapper. Add appropriate amount of filling. Use space between index finger and thumb to close the edges of the wrapper, gradually sealing it up. Arrange buns with openings facedown. These are the uncooked mugwort buns.
Put it all together
- Lay Japanese banana leaves at bottom of steamer basket. Place uncooked mugwort buns on top, leaving ample distance between each bun. Place in steamer pot. Steam on high for approximately 20 minutes. Serve.