Taiwanese street food festival 台味食煮- Day 10 - Festive Peach Steamed Bun 生日快樂桃

"Happy birthday my love <3 This piece of work is dedicated to you, and to another year we celebrate together."

You can mention countless birthday celebrations to your family, friends or love. Get a special present, buy a fancy cake or throw a birthday surprise party..etc. My way to show appreciation to birthday has been adjusted, from hustle and bustle birthday parties to quality time spending at home with satisfactory home-made food. 

When it comes to birthday treats, I tend to follow more taiwanese traditional-oriented way these years. I made a knuckle noodles last year for boyfriend's birthday which is the must-eat dish for birthday celebration in his family. This year I would like to try making something different but still can bring him back to Taiwan with our own food association. Festive Peach Steamed Bun, a lovely sweet bun is the best blessing for this special day, it can also interpret as a birthday cake of eastern version.

In my memory, peach steamed bun is only bought for elder birthday celebration (normally senior than 60-years-old) or as a sacrifice to worship ancestor or god. It sounds a bit old fashion, yet, it is a symbol of " fruit from the heaven" which can bring you health and good luck for the upcoming year, not alone the fluffy bun with sweet creamy hearty filling all together in the mouth is just like taste in the heaven.

The recipe I followed is from Carol easy life , she is the master of Taiwanese pastry in my eyes. The outcome is not as perfect as hers, I am satisfied with my hard work and it does taste great! The most important is my boyfriend is overwhelmed by those irresistible cutties. All the blessings are in the tummy within couple hours!

 

Ingredients:(Serving 8 buns)

Green bean paste (fillings):
1. 100g green bean
2. 2 Tsp sugar
3. 1 Tsp butter

Dough:
1. 200g all purpose flour
2. 1 Tsp sugar
3. 1/3 tsp yeast
4. 1/8 tsp salt
5. 100 cc milk, room temperature
6. 1 tsp green tea powder

Peach Steamed Bun Decor
1. 3-4 cranberries or condense cranberry juice
2. 1 egg white
3. Baking paper

Instructions:

Green bean paste:

1. Soak the green beans over night until it doubles in size. Pour green beans in a large bowel, add water until just cover the beans. Cook with rice cooker or on the stove with medium heat until it becomes tender and easy to smash ( 2 cup water for outer pot if use Tatung rice cooker)

2. Filter water out of beans when its cooked. Heat another pan and add butter, stir in green beans. Keep the medium heat, combine with sugar and start smashing until it become a smooth paste. Set aside to cool down.

 

 

3. Divide into 8 equivalent portion, make each one into a small ball

Dough:

1. Combine ingredient 1-5 in a big bowel, stir to mix well. Remove from the bowel, start kneading with hands for at least 5 mins until it forms a smooth dough. Take a ping-pong size dough, add green tea powder and combine thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, prof until it doubles in size (around 50mins -1 hour depending on weather)

 

2. Squeeze the air out of the dough, divide the white dough into 8 equal portion, 16 for the green one.

Peach bun:

1.  For making leaves, shape each portion of green dough into a cone, press the vein by using the back of knife blade.

2. Take a portion of white dough, flatten to a palm-size round cover, place green bean paste ball and cover it up. Shape it to a peach-like cone, mark a vertical straight line on the bottom of the cone with a back of knife.

 

 

3. Attach two green leaves by brushing some egg white in between. Colour up dough with cranberry juice and place on a piece of baking paper.

 

4. Repeat and complete all the buns. Leave in the steamer with led for another 40 mins for second prof. Steam with high heat for 10 mins and serve warm.