Patron Exclusive Recipe # 23 Pan Fried Bun Roll (Shengjian Style Huajuan Bun Roll) 生煎花卷

(Served with some tom kha gai, makes a great meal)

Hey guys, how's it going?
This week, I wanna share another variation on the mantou dough - "Shengjian" style bun rolls -  I promise this is the last one of this mantou series.
So these bun rolls use the same dough as mantou, with an easier rolling method than the previous huajuan bun rolls, and is pan-fried instead of steaming. It got the same fluffy texture of a steamed bun but also that signature golden brown bottom of a Shengjian Bao.
It's easier to make than Shengjian Bao because it doesn't have a filling. Meanwhile, the mantou dough works here because it doesn't have to hold the juicy filling.
Speaking of which, I do want to make Shengjian bao soonish, it's... awesome and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it. But the dough in traditional Shengjian bao is different than the mantou dough, it requires a sourdough starter and a different fermented level. Let's see if we can tackle that in this spring when things are back to normal.
Anyway, let's get started with this little guy.

**Ingredients** (These rolls are the same as the previous huajuan rolls up until the cutting and rolling part.)

1. AP flour, 200g. 

2. Water, 90g (45%). (We have people living in California report back that 90g water (i.e. 45% hydration) in the dough is too dry. Anything from 45%-50% hydration is ok, adjust it if you think your dough is too dry and crumbly during the initial mixing. However, you don't want your dough to be too wet and soft for huajuan rolls since it'll be difficult to keep its shape.)

3. Sugar, 20g (10%).

4. Yeast, 2g, 1/2 tsp (1%).

5. Baking Powder, 2g, 1/2 tsp (1%).

6. Sichuan salt and pepper mix: 1/4 tsp toasted whole Sichuan peppercorns,1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp MSG, ground and mixed together.
(I'm using the Sichuan salt and pepper flavor here, you can stick to the scallion and five-spice flavor as shown in the previous huajuan bun roll recipe (PatronExclusive #22).)

7. Neutral or peanut Oil, 1/2 tbsp (add more oil when it's not enough to brush over the sheet). To accentuate the flavor, you can also use flavored oil like scallion oil here. However, I won't recommend chili oil as the result may look messy, so try to stay with oil that has a very pale color.

**Process** 

1. Make the mantou dough as shown in the video. (Forgive me for using some old picture.) 

2. When the dough is in the first 30-minute resting stage, mix the oil together with the Sichuan salt and pepper mix if doing this flavor profile.
Or alternatively mixing the oil with salt (1/4 tsp), and five spices (1/4 tsp) in a bowl, also chop the scallion. 

3. After the first 30-minute resting, take the dough out and roll it through the pasta maker for 6 times to get rid of any big air bubbles. 

4. Now we can start shaping the huajuan. Fold the sheet of dough lengthwise, then fold it again lengthwise, to form a little rectangular shape.

(Folding lengthwise once)

(Folding lengthwise again)

4. Flour your working surface (my work surface is very nonstick, so I don't need to), use a rolling pin, roll it out into a rectangular sheet of about 1/2 CM thick (don't roll it too thin otherwise it'll break very easily in the next steps).

5. Brush a thin even layer of the oil mixture on the sheet (then sprinkle some chopped scallion on it). Don't be too greedy with the oil or scallion, otherwise, it'll squeeze out in later stages.

(Brush the oil, salt, and five spices mixture)

(You can sprinkle a bit more if the scallion is very finely diced, mine is a bit too big for a roll)

6. Gently lift the left side of the sheet, fold it 2/3 of the way.

(Lift the left side)

(Fold in 2/3 of the sheet)

7. Brush a thin layer of the oil mixture and sprinkle some scallion on the side that's on top.

(Brush the mixture and sprinkle scallion on the folded side)

8. Gently lift the right side of the sheet, and fold it over the other side.

(Close it up)

9. Grab a rolling pin, gently roll on both sides, and roll it out to a long rectangular sheet, about 1/2 CM thick. 

(Roll it into a long rectangular, the oil will squeeze a bit during rolling, it's fine, just gently wipe it off.)

10. Use a knife, cut the sheet into 16 strips.

11. Take two strips, stack one on top of the other.

12. Gently pinch both ends.

13. Twist a couple times.

14. Place on a non-stick/oiled surface, gently press the whole thing down using your palm. 

15. Work through the remaining strips, and you'll get eight sticks. Optionally brush some oil on them and sprinkle on some black sesame to make it look prettier.

16. Now get a big flat pan, brush a thin layer of oil on it, place the sticks on, cover, and proof for 20-30 minutes (Room temp was 21 centigrade when I was doing this. If your room temp is lower, do it for longer, till you can see the sticks got about 1.5-time bigger).
Our pan is able to fit in all eight sticks and the lid of the other wok is the same size, so it worked perfectly. If yours is not big enough, just proof the sticks on an oiled baking tray or something like that, cover it with a plastic wrap or a lid that fits. 

(Proofing in the pan)

17. After proofing, keep the lid on, turn the heat on medium-low, we can start frying.

18. After 2-3 minutes, the ones at the center should start to form a firmish bottom. Lift the pan, gently swirl the pan around, try to slide the sticks around for even heating. 

19. After another 2-3 minutes, grab a pair of chopstick, gently lift the stick and see if every piece has a nice golden brown bottom. If the answer is yes, we can move onto the next step.

(Every piece should have a bottom like this)

20. Get the lid and a cup of water ready. Drizzle in 1/4 cup water from the center and around the edge of the pan, quickly cover the lid. We're trying to steam the roll in this step.

(Steaming)

21. Let it cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, periodically grab both the pan and the lid (the lid should remain covered), gently shake it in a swirling motion so that the sticks can slide in the pan and heat evenly. 

(It's been sliding around the pan as you can see they're no longer in an arranged order.)

22.  Repeat the adding water-cook-shake process for 3 more times until the whole cup of water is all added in. 

23. After adding in the last quarter cup of water, let it cover and cook for 5 minutes, swirling periodically.

24. When all the water evaporated, uncover, continue to swirl and fry. Turn the heat to low if yours is heating up too fast as you want to be patient and don't want to burn them.

25. Here comes the tricky part, how to tell if it's done. After all the water is evaporated, you'll still need to keep swirling the pan and fry it for a bit longer so that the bottom becomes crispy again. This is judged by the good old trick of listening to the sound, my favorite demonstration is Chef John's fork trick. Once the bottom of the stick is making this kind of sound, you're good to go.

26. Take them out, sprinkle on some finely minced scallion, eat it right away while the bottom is nice and crispy while the bun itself is soft and fluffy. 

 Note on making ahead and freezing: 

• These rolls are best served fresh. However, if you want to save time and make ahead, you can steam them first, cool down and freeze (just like mantou). When you're ready to eat, take them out of the freezer, start the frying process directly from Step 8.

OK, I promise this is the last one of this mantou dough variation series, next week will be a home cooking dish I learned from my dad during the lockdown.