Craving for a sweet treat that is easy to make? Try this simple Chinese fried mantou dipped in creamy condensed milk. Instead of a soft and fluffy traditional steamed mantou, fried mantou gives you a crisp outer layer with a moist center.
What Is Fried Mantou With Condensed Milk?
Chinese steamed bun comes in many variations, including beef bao bun, char siu bao, and chicken bao bun. Buns with a filling are known as bao buns or baozi. On the other hand, buns without a filling are called Mantou.
Mantou is typically steamed and can be eaten alone or with a dipping sauce such as condensed milk, or jam.
Aside from steamed mantou, it can also be fried for a crisp finish. Fried mantou is a popular dish in hot pot and Cantonese restaurants as a side dish or snack.
These are usually served as gold and silver buns with some non-fried mantou.
A Festive Delight for the New Year
When making fried mantou during the Chinese New Year, the phrase “gold and silver mantou” symbolically conveys a household brimming with prosperity and opulence. This image reflects a reality where wealth cascades generously, much like the precious metals of gold and jade.
In this recipe, you will need a steamed mantou ready for frying. You can buy these at Asian grocery stores as packed or frozen. If you have the time, you can also make your own with just flour, yeast, water, sugar, and oil.
How To Make Mantou From Scratch
Although you can purchase Mantou in your local Asian grocery store, I highly recommend making one yourself from scratch. The ingredients are pantry-friendly and the recipe steps are easy to follow. The recipe steps include mixing, kneading, proofing, shaping, and steaming the dough.
You can follow my in-depth recipe on Quick and Easy Steamed Mantou to learn about tips and suggestions.
Here’s a quick summary of how to make steamed mantou ready for frying.
- Prepare the following ingredients: 500g of all-purpose flour, 20g of sugar, 5g of yeast, 1 teaspoon (5g) of oil, and 260g of water.
- Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, and oil in a bowl and pour the water.
- Knead the dough mixture until it forms a smooth dough.
- Let it rest for five minutes under a clean wrap.
- Flatten the dough into a large rectangular sheet and fold the dough in half to create rectangular folds.
- Flatten it once more to form a flat rectangular sheet and brush a little water on top.
- Then, roll the dough into a cylindrical shape and cut the dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Place the dough in a lined steamer and let it proof until it is significantly larger in size.
- After proofing, steam the dough in cold water until it boils.
- Once it boils, steam for 15 minutes and let it rest for an additional 5 minutes after turning off the fire.
Recipe Tips For Fried Mantou With Condensed Milk
Once you have a steamed mantou ready, you can begin frying it for a sweet snack. However, before starting with the recipe, here are a few things to keep in mind. Listed below are some recipe tips and suggestions when making fried mantou with condensed milk.
- Cooking method: In my recipe, I deep-fried the mantou until golden brown. Deep-frying needs to be done on hot oil, preferably when bubbles form or at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the mantou will be floating in oil, you will have to push it down to make sure all sides are cooked evenly. If you want to lessen the oil, you can also air-fry the mantou with or without oil. You can spray some oil in the air fryer basket and on the mantou. Air-fry the mantou for 5 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure to flip the mantou halfway through the cooking time to ensure all sides are cooked evenly.
- Cooking oil: Any cooking oil for deep-frying will do for this recipe. Use olive, avocado, sesame, or safflower oil for a healthier option. If you want a neutral taste, go for peanut, soybean, or vegetable oil. If you want an oil with a higher smoke point, use avocado, peanut, canola, or corn oil. The oil’s smoke point is when it no longer shimmers and starts smoking. Using these high smoke point oils when cooking reduces the amount of oil that is oxidized.
- Serving suggestions: Fried mantou is popularly eaten with creamy and sweet condensed milk. If you don’t have condensed milk or are looking for other ways to eat fried mantou, you can coat the freshly fried mantou in cinnamon and sugar coating. It is best to coat it when there is still oil left on the exterior to make it stick better. Aside from condensed milk, fried mantou can also be eaten with jam, peanut butter, or chocolate spread.
What You’ll Need For Fried Mantou With Condensed Milk
Aside from steamed mantou, you will be needing a few more ingredients and kitchen tools to begin with the recipe. Here’s a complete list of everything you need to get started.
Kitchen Tools
- Frying pan
- Spatula or chopsticks
- Strainer or kitchen paper towel (to drain the oil)
- Kitchen thermometer or chopsticks (to measure the temperature of the oil)
Ingredients
- Steamed mantou
- Cooking oil (enough to deep-fry all the mantou)
- Condensed milk or your choice of dipping sauce
Recipe Instructions For Fried Mantou With Condensed Milk
Making this recipe takes only two easy steps: Heat the oil in a pan and deep-fry the mantou until golden brown. You can check out my short tutorial videos on Tiktok and Instagram to learn how I did it and see what it looks like. Here’s how to prepare fried mantou with condensed milk:
Prepare a shallow pan with enough oil for deep frying.
Heat oil to 180°C (356°F). You can test the oil to see if it is hot enough by dipping chopsticks and checking if it forms bubbles or using a thermometer.
When the oil is hot enough, carefully put the mantou and deep-fry them.
Fry one side for a few minutes or until golden brown.
Then, flip the mantou to its other side and fry until golden brown.
After frying, place it in a strainer to drain the excess oil or on a kitchen paper towel.
Serve while hot and crispy and enjoy it with sweet condensed milk or your choice of dipping sauce.
Fried Mantou With Condensed Milk Recipe (Golden Bun)
Equipment
- Frying pan
- Spatula or chopsticks
- Strainer or kitchen paper towel (to drain the oil)
- Kitchen thermometer or chopsticks (to measure the temperature of the oil)
Ingredients
- 7 Steamed mantou
- Cooking oil enough to deep-fry all the mantou
- Condensed milk or your choice of dipping sauce
Instructions
- Prepare a shallow pan with enough oil for deep frying.
- Heat oil to 180°C (356°F). You can test the oil to see if it is hot enough by dipping chopsticks and checking if it forms bubbles or using a thermometer.
- When the oil is hot enough, carefully put the mantou and deep-fry them.
- Fry one side for a few minutes or until golden brown.
- Then, flip the mantou to its other side and fry until golden brown.
- After frying, place it in a strainer to drain the excess oil or on a kitchen paper towel.
- Serve while hot and crispy and enjoy it with sweet condensed milk or your choice of dipping sauce.
