Baozi 包子, is a type of filled bun or bread-like dumpling. It is commonly known as steamed buns due to most types of baozi, but not all, being prepared through steaming. Baozi was originally named mantou 馒头, but it eventually became known as baozi by the Northen Song Dynasty as fillings began to be added into the empty mantou. However, baozi still resembles mantou since both have a wheat dough exterior. Today, there are many different sizes of baozi and variations in the fillings, ranging from the traditional meat and green onions [1] to familiar modern flavours like curry beef today.
Now, I will elaborate more on the origins and history of baozi. Baozi is said to have originated from Northern China. The story of how baozi came about dates back to the Three Kingdoms Period (3rd century AD). It was said that after defeating a barbarian king, Zhuge Liang and his army encountered a river too swift to cross. According to legend, armies would sacrifice 50 men and then toss the heads into the river to please the river gods. However, Zhuge Liang wanted to avoid more human bloodshed. Instead, Liang decided to kill cows and horses traveling with the army, and used beef and lamb meat in buns shaped like human heads. The flat-based buns were thrown into the river and were later named mantou, which translates to “barbarian’s head.” This then gradually evolved into baozi today which is essentially mantou but with fillings. [2] The story reflects how recipes could be for saving lives and not just solely for cooking purposes.
In relation to this week’s topic on Cooking and Recipes, I will be focusing on a specific type of baozi which is extremely popular today, red bean paste bun 豆沙包. It is a baozi with a sweet red bean paste filling, which could either be smooth or smashed. [3] Traditionally, the red bean paste buns contain smashed red bean paste, so you can imagine tasting the bits of red bean when you bite into your bun. However, today, red bean paste in buns tend to be the smoother and finer version, as the red beans have their skins peeled off and then blended together to form a smooth paste. This is ready available today as red bean paste filling can be store-bought now. Even the baozi themselves could be purchased in supermarkets pre-packaged and prepared easily by steaming them for a few minutes, which is then ready for consumption.
Pre-packaged boxes of baos in supermarkets
Here is a recipe to share about the traditional way of making red bean paste buns instead of going for pre-packaged ones. [3] This retains the authenticity of the baozi as it is made from scratch.
Ingredients include:
- 200 g red bean paste filling (either smashed/smooth)
- 300 g all purpose flour
- 40 g sugar
- 1.5 tsp. sugar tolerant instant yeast
- 150 ml warm water ,or 180ml to 185ml warm milk, the best temperature for liquid is around 35 degree C.
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil ,corn oil
- a tiny pinch of salt
Directions:
- Mix all of the dough ingredients.
- Let it sit in a warm place so it can rise.
- Knead the dough with flour.
- Divide the dough and press it into a wrapper.
- Add the red bean filling and seal the wrapper.
- Let the buns rest in the steamer for about 15 minutes under 28-30 degree C.
- Steam the buns for another 20 minutes on high heat.
This traditional recipe results in delicious and sweet red bean paste filled buns and could be worth a try!
Overall, the difference between the past and present methods of making baozi, in this case, red bean paste bun is that previously, baozi was made from scratch from making the wheat dough, letting it rise, rolling it into wrappers and then adding the freshly made red bean paste filling inside to steam. However, today, pre-packaged versions of baozi tell us that they are likely to be manufactured in huge batches by companies to place large number of stocks on the shelves at supermarkets. The authenticity of such versions of baozi is in question as we are unsure of the way the baozi are being made by the manufacturers. Nonetheless, pre-packaged baozi do provide the convenience for people who have little time to make them from scratch. Moreover, it is quite unfeasible to expect people to spend at least 5 hours of time making baozi using the traditional recipe as this is way too time-consuming.
Ultimately, the presence of baozi is indeed significant in Chinese culture today. It had become popular toward the the end of the third century. There was a writer named Shu Xi, and he was very interested in wheat foods, often heaping his praise on them. Out of all the varieties of wheat food including mantou, mianbing (pancakes) and tangbing (lit. dough in the soup), Shu Xi personally preferred mantou, or steamed buns, which can be dubbed Chinese bread. This is how mantou became a daily food and this led to the popularity of baozi when it was added with fillings. This could be seen in a translation by David Knechtges of Shu Xi’s rhapsody in ‘Gradually Entering the Realm of Delight: Food and Drink in Early Medieval China’. [4] Even in the book named Ai Zhu Tan Tan Sou《爱竹淡谈薮》, when a doctor named Sun Lin 孙琳 treated the Emperor Ningzong of Song, he used baozi filled with garlic and light soybean and it was to be eaten 3 times a day. Soon enough, the emperor’s illness healed in 3 days. This is also another story behind why baozi became such a popular food. [5] Baozi is also held by the hand eaten today as it is a grain food, and hence this does not require the use of chopsticks. [6]
References:
[2] Baozi. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://fft.dhinitiative.org/exhibits/show/baozi/origins
[4] Journal of the American Oriental Society, 117:2 (April-June 1997), 236.
[5] Ai Zhu Tan Tan Sou 《爱竹淡谈薮》(The Old Man Who Loves Bamboo) , Dictionary of the ben cao gang mu, Volume 3: Persons and Literary Sources.
[6] Wang, Q. Edward. “Dish, Rice or Noodle? The Changing Use of Chopsticks.” Chopsticks: A Cultural and Culinary History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. 41-66
On the Zhugeliang story, please see
https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/hh2031-1920s1/2019/09/03/week-4-wheat-%e5%b0%8f%e9%ba%a6-mantou-%e9%a6%92%e5%a4%b4/