Boa & Dim Sum is an ode to Orathay Souksisavanh’s culinary heritage. Inspired by a childhood memory of waiting for her father to arrive home with two steaming hot bao buns she would devour every single day. Filled with 60 bun and dumpling recipes with fillings that range from meats, to veggies and seafood. Included in the cookbook is a section on ingredients and tips and advice which along with step by step pictures makes a huge difference in being able to make buns with intricate folding patterns. One of my favourite tips is to freeze balls of filling to make it easier to fill and shape.
Dietary Notes
Most of the recipes contain pork or seafood like crab or prawns – ingredients I do not eat. That left me with a handful of recipes that were vegan, vegetarian or chicken based. If you keep Kosher, Halaal or have a vegan/vegetarian diet, I would give this one a miss.
Best For
Those who love Chinese cooking, dumplings and steamed buns.
Cooking Level
Intermediate to advanced – making buns and dumplings requires a lot of steps, and the folding techniques take a while to master. Some of the recipes require a lot of steps and techniques
While I did try out her bao buns, I’m sharing the recipe for spring onion pancakes as they are delicious, super simple to make and while not a dumpling or bun are often seen in Chinese cooking. And you can do no wrong with carbs!
Spring Onion Pancakes
Ingredients
- 300 grams bread flour plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 200 ml hot water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil plus more for cooking
- 5 spring onion finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons chilli oil
Instructions
- Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the hot water a little at a time, stirring with a spatula or chopsticks. When the dough starts to turn lumpy, knead it for 5 minutes. It should be smooth and not stick to your hands or the sides of the bowl. Add a little more flour if needed. Grease the bowl with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and roll the ball of dough around it to coat. Cover with cling film and let rest for 40 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Dust your work surface with flour and roll one piece of dough into a 35x25cm rectangle, as thin as possible.
- Brush the dough with chilli oil, sprinkle with spring onions and dust with a little flour. From the long side, roll it into a tight log, pressing out all the air. Roll the log into a circle (shape of a snail). Tuck the end underneath so it doesn’t unravel when cooking. Cover with clingfilm and let it rest while you repeat this process with the other two pieces of dough.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Gently roll out each coiled dough into a circle that is 3-5mm thick. Dust with flour and cook for 3 minutes on each side. The pancakes should be golden brown and crisp. Enjoy them hot with more chilli oil.
Bao & Dim Sum by Orathay Souksisavanh is published by Hardie Grant Books and distributed in South Africa by Jonathan Ball Publishers. It is available here
