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These Bunny Steamed Buns are not only adorable but also incredibly soft and fluffy, making them a delightful treat for both children and adults alike.
With a fluffy exterior and a sweet red bean paste filling, they’re sure to bring joy to both kids and adults alike. Follow my simple steps to create your own batch of cute bunny buns!
What To Love About Bunny Steamed Buns
You may have encountered popular buns like Cha Siu Bao and Nai Wong Bao on the dim sum menu, but not every bun makes it to the list.
However, Steamed Piggy Buns and Bunny Steamed Buns are likely to be featured because of their adorable appearance. Whenever I make these buns, my two little ones eagerly join in, delighted by the cute shapes.
If you’re a regular visitor to Kitchen Misadventures, you’ll know how much I love buns. I’ve shared various bun recipes, including Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Buns, Steamed Piggy Buns, Red Bean Paste Buns, Longevity Peach Buns, pineapple buns, taro buns, and more.
Ingredient Alternatives And Suggestions
- All-Purpose Flour: Use plain regular flour or all-purpose flour to give the dough a nice white color and soft texture. Avoid special flour types like whole wheat flour, rice flour, or glutinous rice flour since these will result in a different texture not ideal for Chinese buns.
- Sugar: Sugar helps aid in the fermentation process with the yeast since yeast feeds on sugar, making it faster and more efficient. I recommend using granulated sugar.
- Yeast: This is the key ingredient in making the buns rise. It allows the buns to rise during resting and after steaming. If you want to mix the yeast directly with the rest of the dough ingredients, I suggest using instant yeast, quick rise, or fast rising yeast. Other types of yeast require mixing with warm water first before adding to the flour.
- Water: I recommend warm water to help you achieve a smoother dough and allow the dough to rise quickly. Warm water should be at a temperature of about 110°F and below. Not only is warm water needed for a smoother dough, but it is also the required temperature for the yeast. Remember, the yeast will die if it is added to hot water with a temperature of 120°F or higher. Once the yeast is killed, it will not activate the fermentation process. If the fermentation process does not activate, the dough will not rise and give you a flat bun.
Cooking oil: I added cooking oil for a richer taste and texture, resulting in a softer and fluffier bun.
For the filling: The filling I used is a sweet bean paste.
- You can typically buy sweet bean paste like red bean paste in Asian grocery stores or online markets like Amazon, which is labeled as adzuki bean paste, red bean jam, or hong dou sha (红豆沙). The filling is made from mashed red beans, also known as adzuki beans. The beans are mixed with oil and sometimes with sugar for extra sweetness. If you have extra time, you can make it yourself from scratch by following my full recipe for red bean paste. In this recipe, the beans are soaked before boiling and blending. Then, the blended beans are cooked in the pan with sugar and oil until it becomes pasty. I recommend making a large batch of red bean paste so you can make other red bean paste recipes, such as red bean paste buns, red bean mochi, and red bean bread.
- Apart from red bean paste, you can change the flavors of the cake by using these fillings:
Ingredients:
- 10g sugar
- 5g yeast
- 100g water
- 200g flour
- 6g oil
- Bean paste filling (store-bought or homemade using my recipe)
- Pink food dye powder for decoration (used to create the bunny’s eyes, alternatively, red bean paste can be used to create the eyes).
How to make Bunny Steamed Buns:
- In a bowl, combine sugar and yeast. Mix with 100g water until dissolved.
- Pour the yeast water into 200g of flour. Add 6g of oil and blend until a cohesive mixture forms.
- Shape and knead the dough into a smooth ball. This may take some time, so be patient and thorough with the process.
- Divide the dough into 10 small portions.
- Flatten each portion of dough into a slightly thick circular wrapper. Then, using a rolling pin, flatten each portion further until it forms a flat disc. Add a spoonful of bean paste filling to the center. Seal the edges and shape it into a round ball.
- Mold each ball into an ellipse shape, then use a pair of scissors to cut out rabbit ears and a tail. Press the ears gently to create a pointed shape and round the edges to form a head.
- Dust the dough with pink food dye powder to create the eyes and add a touch of color. Alternatively, dissolve pink food dye powder in water and use a chopstick to dot the eyes onto the dough.
- Let the buns rest for 30 minutes to allow them to rise by 1.5 times.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the buns in a steamer basket. Steam the buns for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Serve your adorable bunny steamed buns and enjoy the smiles they bring!
Bunny Steamed Buns Recipe
These Bunny Steamed Buns are not only adorable but also incredibly soft and fluffy, making them a delightful treat for both children and adults alike. With a fluffy exterior and a sweet red bean paste filling, they're sure to bring joy to both kids and adults alike. Follow my simple steps to create your own batch of cute bunny buns!
Ingredients
- 10 g sugar
- 5 g yeast
- 100 g water
- 200 g plain flour
- 6 g oil
- Bean paste filling store-bought or homemade using my recipe
- Pink food dye powder for decoration used to create the bunny's eyes, alternatively, red bean paste can be used to create the eyes.
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine sugar and yeast. Mix with 100g water until dissolved.
- Pour the yeast water into 200g of flour. Add 6g of oil and blend until a cohesive mixture forms.
- Shape and knead the dough into a smooth ball. This may take some time, so be patient and thorough with the process.
- Divide the dough into 10 small portions.
- Flatten each portion of dough into a slightly thick circular wrapper. Then, using a rolling pin, flatten each portion further until it forms a flat disc. Add a spoonful of bean paste filling to the center. Seal the edges and shape it into a round ball.
- Mold each ball into an ellipse shape, then use a pair of scissors to cut out rabbit ears and a tail. Press the ears gently to create a pointed shape and round the edges to form a head.
- Dust the dough with pink food dye powder to create the eyes and add a touch of color. Alternatively, dissolve pink food dye powder in water and use a chopstick to dot the eyes onto the dough.
- Let the buns rest for 30 minutes to allow them to rise by 1.5 times.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the buns in a steamer basket. Steam the buns for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Serve your adorable bunny steamed buns and enjoy the smiles they bring!
Nutrition
Calories: 209kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 6gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 3mgPotassium: 65mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin C: 0.003mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
