Bao Buns
Vivian Chan-Tam
92 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
92
2 hours 25 minutes
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For the Dipping Sauce
To make the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, combine sambal oelek, honey, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar and salt. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate up to a week.
To make the spring rolls: Combine butter and garlic in a sauté pan over medium high heat, and stir until butter is foamy and garlic is fragrant but not browned. Add oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, chili and salt to taste. Cover and cook over medium heat until mushrooms have released their juices and are soft and glazed, about 6 minutes. Add lemon zest, ginger and chervil or tarragon, and sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat and spread across a small plate. Place in the freezer, uncovered, mixing occasionally until very cold, about 15 minutes.
Place a spring roll wrapper in front of you, like a diamond, so a point faces you. Lightly brush the four corners of the wrapper with beaten egg yolk. Place 2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture into the bottom quarter of the wrapper. Starting from the bottom corner, roll the wrapper, folding in the side corners so they get wrapped up, and keep rolling until closed. Repeat to make 8 rolls.
In a deep fryer, wok or skillet, heat oil to 350 degrees. Add spring rolls, working in batches if necessary, and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. If desired, season lightly with salt and white pepper. Divide dipping sauce among 4 very small bowls, and place a bowl on each of 4 plates. Place 2 lettuce leaves on each plate, place a spring roll on each leaf. Wrap spring rolls in the lettuce and dip.
These mushrooms are delicious as is the dipping sauce. Both can be used in any number of recipes. Dice the mushrooms for a duxelle. The only things I changed was using 4oz of butter versus 8oz and I pan fried the rolls in peanut oil rather than deep frying them. To some of the mushroom wraps I added tofu and shredded red and green cabbage, first lightly sautéing these in peanut oil. It's all good.
Using 2 tablespoons of mushroom mixture per roll, this recipe makes way more than 8 rolls. I suspected that would be the case based on nearly 2 pounds of mushrooms. I used a very generous 2 tablespoons and got 14 rolls.
just a note... these are called egg rolls. Spring rolls are made with fresh vegetables and herbs.
The recipe calls for 8 TABLESPOONS butter, which is 4 oz. One stick.
I don't know what I do wrong, but I have never been able to get chopped garlic fragrant before it starts to turn brown and then burn. I've learned to add it at the very end of a cooking process, not the beginning, and if I make these spring rolls, which I may well do, that's what I'm going to do here, as well.
Can you use water instead of egg to make this vegan?
Is it possible to air fry the rolls to get a similar texture and result?
These mushrooms are delicious as is the dipping sauce. Both can be used in any number of recipes. Dice the mushrooms for a duxelle. The only things I changed was using 4oz of butter versus 8oz and I pan fried the rolls in peanut oil rather than deep frying them. To some of the mushroom wraps I added tofu and shredded red and green cabbage, first lightly sautéing these in peanut oil. It's all good.
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