Steamed Buns Add Variety to Life

 

These tasty Yellow Milk Buns can help satisfy your sweet tooth; Small Bean Paste Buns can also do the trick.

A tasty peek at what fresh Nanhsiang Steamed Buns look like.

BBQ pork peaks our from within
the bun.

 

Save your tongue: With Shanghai-style soup dumplings, eat it a bit at a time so the liquid doesn't burn the inside of your mouth.

 

 

 

 

A white, tender exterior encases salty and sweet meats and vegetables. All of this tasty flavor is contained in one succulent bun. It's said that buns were created during the Three Kingdoms period. During a long journey with his men, the advisor to the Kingdom of Shu, Chu Ke Liang, realized that natives were using people's skulls
as a sacrificial tribute to the Emperor. He convinced them to use "heads" made
from flour instead. In order to make the flour rolls more human-like, different kinds of meats were wrapped in the center. People later called them "steamed buns." Slowly, steamed buns morphed into many different kinds. In Jiangsu and Shanghai restaurants, meat and meatless buns abound. So those making their first few trips
to a Shanghai restaurant may find themselves confused as they try to sort out
all the available choices.

In Taiwan's streets and ports, one can find many different types and flavors of buns. Most tourists, well-known celebrities and Hollywood movie stars make it a point to eat Shanghai-style soup buns or crab-flavored steamed small soup dumplings as soon as they set foot in Taiwan. Two renown establishments are Ju Ting Tai Feng (ŚpąŠŽőÂ×) and Yin Yi (ťČÁl). Below are a list of many different kinds of buns for your dining pleasure:

* Meat and Vegetable Buns: These traditional Taiwanese, flavored buns are simple and individualistic, and those with meat are an inexpensive and substantial meal. They have sustained many people going through tough times. A handful of these buns leave people feeling content. They're stuffed mainly with pork, cabbage, scallion, ginger, white pepper, sesame oil, and salt. These buns are predominantly served for breakfast or as a snack in Taiwan.

* Shanghai Soup Dumplings: These dumplings from Nanhsiang town within Shanghai are relatively small with a thin wrapper and tasty soup. Don't eat one whole though, or you risk burning your tongue. The primary ingredients here are pork, oil, pig skin jelly, scallion juice, ginger juice, sugar, salt, sesame oil, and water. Shanghai Soup Buns are often dipped in a vinegar sauce that contains shredded ginger. Together with a small bowl of savory soup with shredded scrambled eggs, these buns can be a delicious and simple meal.

* Crab Soup Dumplings: This famous dish came into being at the end of the Three Kingdoms period. When Liu Bei, the ruler of the Shu kingdom, died at
Bai Ti Cheng, Lady Sun grieved endlessly and committed suicide by throwing herself into a river. In a famous gesture, one of Liu Bei's servants, recalling Lady Sun's kindness and love of crab dishes, made crabmeat buns and threw them into the river as a sacrifice. Crab Soup Dumplings are made with meat and similar to
the Shanghai Soup Dumpling only with more crab meat and flavor. The golden color is quite alluring. If you too love crab, this flavorful seafood and crab combination is a must-taste.

* Small Bean Paste Buns: These sweet, small buns are steamed and have a center made of red bean paste, oil and sugar in place of meat. In Taiwan, chefs put their special stamp on their Small Bean Paste Buns. Besides using a high-quality red bean paste, they also use mojee, some sesame oil, and kumquats. This is the dish for those with a sweet tooth to munch on.

* Small Nanhsiang Steamed Buns: In Shanghai, if it's made from flour, whether or not there's a filling, it's called a steam bun. These small buns were originally created in a Shanghai (in a borough called Nanhsiang) pastry shop, which specializes in meat steamed buns. As their business thrived, other pastry shops began to copy the original, making Nanhsiang famous for these particular buns.

* Shitake Mushroom Vegetarian Buns: Even if you aren't a vegetarian, this bread lover's dish is nutritious and not too greasy. The dish's name implies that these buns are flavored only with vegetable shoots and Shitake mushrooms, but some shops add dried tofu for additional flavor.

* BBQ Pork Buns: Flavored BBQ pork is encased in either a slightly sweet
or light, fluffy outer wrapping. The mixture and flavor of sweet and salty wake up people's appetite. BBQ Pork Buns are a Cantonese Dimsum dish.
These are springy with a fluffy, white exterior that has slightly open top. The pork
is reddish in color and immersed in a paste-like sauce. These buns have a
southern Chinese flavor.

* Yellow Milk Buns: With condensed milk as an ingredient, these buns have a light, smooth exterior - much like a baby's delicate skin, which people can't resist touching. The bun's center includes shelled mung beans, condensed milk, fine granulated sugar, and powdered corn. This is also a Cantonese Dimsum food.

In New York City, there are many different kinds of Chinese restaurants. Some focus on Shanghai or Cantonese foods, offering all varieties of buns. New Green Bo Restaurant has superb Steamed Small Crab Dumplings, Steamed Small Soup Dumplings, Vegetable Buns, and other foods for very reasonable prices. Joe's Shanghai is known for Steamed Small Soup Dumplings. For Cantonese cuisine, like BBQ Pork and Yellow Milk Buns, Golden Unicorn, Mandarin Court, and Dim Sum Go Go are all worth trying.

 

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Steamed Buns Add Variety to Life

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