Ingredients

• Flour 250 g
• Milk 130-140 ml
• Yeast 3g
• Sugar 30g
• Salt  1g
• If using water, 125 ml.
• If desired for use in the decorative flower ball, green onion, sesame oil, salt and ground pepper
• If desired for use in flavoring the mantou, black sesame powder or raisins to taste

Instructions

1. Warm milk until it reaches 40 degrees C (104 degrees F). Typically you can accomplish this by microwaving it for about 30 seconds.
2. Add yeast to the milk, stir a little and let it stand for 5 minutes.
3. Mix flour with sugar and salt. Pour in milk mixture, then mix and knead into a dough. At this stage, if desired, you can add black sesame powder to taste to make a batch of sesame-flavored mantou.
4. Let dough rise until it double sizes. This takes about an hour.
5. Knead the dough and gently roll it out to expel the air in the dough.
6. Shape the dough into a rectangle and spread water onto its surface. At this point, if you’d like to make a mantou with a sweet flavor, you can add raisins.
7. Roll the dough up into a long cylindrical snake, then cut off the head and tail of the dough snake to make the ends even. You can combine these and shape into a ball. Alternatively, if desired, the head and tail pieces can be set aside to form a decorative ball or flower shape as described (instructions below).
8. Cut the remaining dough cylinder into 6 equally-sized pieces.
9. Place all 7 pieces of dough onto the steamer rack of a rice cooker and let the dough rise again for 40-50 minutes.
10. Steam the buns in a steamer for 12 minutes or, if you don’t have a steamer, on a raised rack in a covered pot with a small amount of water at the bottom brought to boil.
11. Let the mantou rest for five minutes after the steaming process has finished.
12. Enjoy your soft and fluffy mantou now!

Decorative Mantou Centerpiece Instructions

1. Combine the head and tail of the dough snake and shape into another long cylindrical snake.
2. Roll out the snake horizontally to flatten it out.
3. Brush dough lightly with sesame oil, sprinkle ground black pepper, salt and chopped green onion down the center of the snake, then fold the snake in half.
4. Use a table knife to score, or cut slits, down the body of the snake as pictured.
5. Roll the snake from tail to head. This forms a decorative flower ball 花 捲

This recipe incorporates an ingredient that is also another common Taiwanese breakfast item: the Chinese cruller, or “yiou-tiao”. For simplicity, I will refer to this item as the Chinese doughnut stick because it does actually resemble a doughnut or even the Mexican churro without the cinnamon and sugar coating. In Taiwan, these savory doughnuts sticks are often dipped in warm, sweet soy milk and eaten on their own as a standalone breakfast. You can purchase this pastry at Asian bakeries or grocery stores.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sweet rice
• 1 cup regular white rice
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp, vegetable or canola oil
• ¾ cup chopped dried radish
• ¾ cup pork sung (dried shredded pork)
• 1 Chinese doughnut stick, cut into 6 pieces
• Cilantro (optional)

Instructions:

1. Combine sweet rice with white rice and cook the grains with a ratio of 1 cup rice to 0.8 cups water in rice cooker. When the rice is done, allow it to simmer for another 20 minutes.
2. Crack the eggs into a bowl and stir with a fork. Pour 1/6 of beaten egg mixture into wok or frying pan and make into a long, slim omelette.  To do this, use a spatula to roll the egg shape as it cooks.  Make six of these omelettes, one for each roll.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon of cooking oil and stir-fry the dried radish to bring out the fragrance.
4. Use a toaster oven to toast the Chinese doughnut stick pieces until they are crispy.
5. Spread Saran wrap over an 8” round flat plate. Place a single cup of rice onto the plastic wrap and spread the rice out into an thin, even layer. On top of the rice, place two tablespoons of dried pork sung and two tablespoons of radish, then add the egg and donut stick as well as cilantro if desired.
6. Use the plastic wrap to close the rice roll and shape the roll into a cylinder.
7. Press until firm and set.
8. Serve these rolls with the plastic wrap on — think of it as a sushi roll with the ready-to-eat convenience of a burrito.  Makes six servings.

Can I make Taiwanese breakfast rolls using other ingredients?

Yes, definitely. Please note that is just one version of the Taiwanese breakfast rice-roll, and that the filling of the roll can be substituted to taste. This can be a great way to repurpose leftovers.

If you have ever enjoyed a traditional Chinese dim sum meal, you probably had an opportunity to try Siu Mai, the hearty, open-faced pork dumplings that come in a variety of regional variations.This recipe for siu mai incorporates common ingredients from Taiwanese cuisine such as water chestnuts, shiitake mushrom and white pepper.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs ground pork or chicken
• 10 pcs. shrimp, chopped into a paste
• 4 pieces dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in water until soft, then finely chopped
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup water chestnut, finely chopped (optional)
• 1/4 tsp white ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp light color soy sauce
• 2 tbsp cooking wine
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 package dumpling skins (siu-mai skin), round. Note: When selecting dumpling skins for use in this recipe, remember that thinner skins are better.

Instructions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients, other than the dumpling skins, until the mixture is well-blended.
2. Refrigerate the mixture for at least one hour.
3. Place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture on each dumpling skin. If you are using dumpling skins with a smaller diameter, use 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture instead.
4. Hold the siu-mai on your hand, then fold the edges as if you were creating a series of flower petals, using your thumb and index finger to gather the top edges of the dumpling skin. The top of the siu mai should not gape open too widely. Shape the top of the siu mai with one hand, and then the other hand to pat the bottom of the siu mai to create a flat bottom.
5. Garnish the top of each siu mai dumpling with green peas, slivered carrots or corn kernels.
6. Steam the siu mai dumplings at a high temperature setting for approximately 10 minutes.
7. Serve with chili sauce.

Ingredients:

Part A

• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
• 10 pieces shrimp, chopped into a paste
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce (light colored)
• 2 tbsp. cooking wine
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1/2 cup fish paste (optional)

Part B

• 4 pieces dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in water until soft, then finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/3 cup finely chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup fried shallot
• 1/3 cup finely chopped water chestnut (optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix the ingredients in Part A together with a folk or spatula and stir in the same direction (e.g., clockwise) until the mixture is well blended, approximately three to four minutes.
2. Add the ingredients in Part B, then stir until well-mixed. Store this mixture in the refrigerator for two to three hours.
3. After the chicken mixture has been chilled, heat a pot of water to boil, then turn the heat to low.
4. Prepare a bowl of water and place a metal spoon in it. (Wetting the spoon will help prevent meat from sticking to the spoon as you scoop out meatballs.)
5. Shape the chicken mixture into meatballs of 1 to 1 1/4 inch diameter by using your hands (you can wear gloves). You can do this by putting some of the mixture in your palm, then squeezing the mixture through your thumb and index finger. Scoop out the meatball by using the spoon and immediately place the meatball into hot water to cook. Place the spoon back in the water bowl and repeat the process to make more meat balls.
6. Once the meat balls have floated to the surface of the pot, cook in boiling water for two more minutes, then use strainer to remove the cooked meatballs.

Tip:

To save time, you can make extra meatballs in advance and store them in the freezer for future use.