Thai Lao Steam Bun

Today marks the one year anniversary of Thai & Lao Food blogging. With full time employment and part-time blogging, I am exhausted!

Here is the traditional Thai Lao Steam bun recipe filled with pork, egg, mushrooms, and sweet sausages. I make steam buns on weekends; then I freeze the buns in containers. I would thaw in the fridge overnight and warm in the microwave for 20 seconds. This makes a quick breakfast on the go and I take them to work as a delicious alternative to sandwiches.

Appetizer Recipe: Thai Lao Steam Bun
1 package of steam bun mix. Look for steam bun picture to make sure you have the right package
½ cup sugar
1 cup fresh soy milk
1 tablespoon oil
12 quail eggs or 3 chicken eggs
2 Asian sweet sausages
1 cup ground pork
2 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
2 shallots minced
1 clove garlic minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oyster sauce or hoisin sauce
12 wax paper cut into 2 inches square
2 tablespoons white vinegar

There should be directions on the package of the steam bun. However here are the basic steps:

1. For the Dough - mix the package with fresh soy milk, sugar and oil. Knead dough for 5 minutes. Leave dough aside for 20 minutes. Knead again for 2 minutes and divide dough into 12 equal balls.

2. For Pork Filling - boil quail eggs for 15 minutes or chicken eggs for 20 minutes. Cut large eggs in quarters. Cut sweet sausages into 12 pieces or into very small pieces. For pork filling, add chopped garlic, shallots and mushrooms, salt, pepper, and oyster sauce.

3. Putting it together - Sprinkle flour onto hard surface and roll dough out into a large circle slightly larger than palm of hand. Add eggs, sausages and 1 tablespoon of pork filling. Gather opposite edges and meet in the middle. Pinch dough to seal out any small air holes. Place wax paper under base of steam bun. Place six buns in each stainless steel steaming layer.

4. Add water into steaming pot so it levels 2 inches. Add vinegar and bring water to boil. Add steaming layers with bun over the steaming pot. Steam bun 10 minutes. Lift lid of steamer to remove condensation. Steam another 10 minutes.

Water Lily Stir Fry

Some call it “water lily” or “on choy” but in Thailand and Laos, this green vegetable is called “puk bonge”. Purchase the water lily vegetable at most Asian supermarkets.

Most Thai and Lao people will eat water lilies raw with spicy dishes like the green green papaya salad, lap Lao beef and lap chicken because it cools the tongue. I prefer it raw myself but here is a stir fry recipe given to me from my aunt “Ba Von”.

Stir Fry Recipe: Water Lily
1 tablespoon oil
¼ cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 inch of ginger and sliced thinly
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce or hoisin sauce

Cut 2 inches off the bottom stem and discard. Wash water lily in cold water thoroughly and remove any damaged leaves. Drain excess water. In a small bowl, mix shrimp paste, fish sauce, and oyster/hoisin sauce. Cut the washed water lily 4 inches in length and separate the large stems from the smaller stems. In a wok over high heat, add oil, garlic, onions and ginger. Stir fry until onions are tender. Add the thick stems and stir fry for about 2 minutes, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium. After 2 minutes, remove lid and add the tender stems and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Turn heat off and add sauce. Mix sauce with water lily stir fry and serve immediately.

Serve water lily stir fry with sticky rice or jasmine rice.

Beef Stir Fry

Most Thai and Lao children first learn how to cook sticky rice or jasmine rice before other dishes. However, the beef stir fry was my first dish when I was 11 years old. This shows you how simple it is to make this dish. Make sure that cooking time does not exceed 3 minutes.

Stir Fry Recipe: Beef Stir Fry
2 cups chopped beef
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster or hoisin sauce
1/2 cup snow peas
1/2 cup chopped sweet red peppers
1/4 cup chopped red onions

Add chopped beef, garlic, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Mix thoroughly together and marinate for 1/2 hour. In a wok, over high heat, add oil and marinated beef. Stir fry until 50% of beef is cooked. Add onions and stir fry for 1 minute. Add snow peas and sweet peppers and stir for 2 minutes. Stir fry beef should not take longer than 3 minutes.

Serve with sticky rice or khao chow and the Classic Thai / Lao Hot Sauce.