December 11, 2021. Cold autumn day. Best Ever Banana Bread Muffins. Updated March 30, 2023 I wanted to share a fabulous and easy recipe that I have been making again and again for the past few weeks since the guys can’t seems to get enough …
October 20, 2020. Sunny and warm. Classic English Cottage Loaf. My favorite baking show, the Great British Bake-Off (or the Great British Baking Show in the US) is back on air and I am revisiting some of the delicious bakes featured in past seasons. First …
October 10, 2020. Rainy and cool. Chinese Flower Buns.
Jump to RecipeRecently I was spending a bit more time on Pinterest setting up an Inspiration Board to pin awesome pictures and give me fresh ideas on what to tinker with and also new recipes to make.
Well, these pretty Chinese style steamed buns just jumped out at me! I thought these Chinese Flower Buns looked appealing and tasty. When I did a bit more digging, I was astonished to learn it takes less than an hour to put together. Of course, I had to give it a try. These are truly worth making.
First off, the recipe is pretty straight forward with only 4 major steps: make dough, prep filling, shape bun, and steam. And, it is helpful the ingredients are normal pantry stuff. The only unusual item is probably the 5-spice powder, which is available at most local grocery stores. I’m calling these the Twirl Flower Buns because you need to twirl the dough around a chopstick to create the shape. The inspiration recipe for Chinese Flower Rolls is from RedHouseSpice.com.
I’ve taken lots of step by step pictures on how to shape the buns, as well as a short video clip. Please let me know in the comments at the bottom of the post if you find them useful. I appreciate any feedback.
Without further delay, let’s get making!
You will need the following ingredients to make 12 large Twirl Flower Buns. The recipe can easily be halved or scaled up.
To make the dough, you’ll need:
4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp active dry yeast
1½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 to 1¼ cups (240 to 300 ml) lukewarm water, adjust per flour
4 stalks of green onions, finely sliced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp 5-Spice Powder
2 Tbs vegetable oil (plus 2 Tbs additional for pan)
Scant 1 cup (200 ml) water for steaming
I used a stand mixer for the dough, a small pan to heat the oil, and a large pan with lid to steam the buns.
Let’s start by making the dough. First, add water, yeast and sugar to bowl. Mix thoroughly. Next, stir in flour and baking powder and combine till well mixed. When dough is formed, knead for at least 8 minutes or until the dough is firm and smooth.
In a small saucepan, heat up the oil till hot. When the oil is heating, put the scallions, salt and 5-Spice powder into a heat proof bowl. When ready, pour hot oil over the mixture and stir well.
In a lightly floured work surface, tip out the dough. Divide into half. Roll out one of the dough pieces into a rectangular shape, approx 8″ x 12″ (20 x 30 cm). Top with half the green onion 5-spice mixture and spread evenly. On the long side, fold ⅓ into middle ( to create a 3 panel rectangle). Fold the top ⅓ on top. You’ll have a long rectangle. Repeat with the second dough piece and create the second filled and folded rectangle dough.
For each rectangle, score lightly and cut the dough into 12 even pieces. You will have 24 pieces in total. To shape, start by stacking 2 pieces together. Then, use a chopstick and press down the middle lengthwise. Next, pick up the dough on both ends and gently stretch.
Then, drape the dough strip over the chopstick and pinch the 2 ends together. Next, twirl the chopstick in a counterclockwise movement to form a flower. Then, place the bun on the work surface and press down the chopstick to seal the shape. Slide the chopstick carefully out of the bun and you have just made your first twirl Flower Bun! Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
Next, let the buns proof for about 30 minutes, until they are noticeably puffy.
When the buns are almost ready, preheat a large pan on high. Drizzle the bottom of pan with the remaining 2 Tablespoons oil. Swirl the pan to make sure the bottom is coated with oil. Carefully place the shaped dough into the pan, leaving about 1 inch (2 -3 cm) space between the buns. If necessary, cook the buns in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding.
Cook for about 1-2 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. When ready, pour water into the pan and cover with lid. Then, turn the heat down to medium low. Next, steam cook for approx 18 – 20 minutes, until all the water has evaporated and the buns are cooked. Finally take off lid, switch off the heat and remove buns from pan.
Your beautiful AND tasty Chinese Flower Buns are ready! Let’s Eat!
Uneaten buns can be stored in airtight container for up to 3 days. For a longer period, freeze.
The Chinese name for these types of rolls are called Huā juǎn, 花捲/卷. They are also known as Mandarin Rolls.
Just for fun – I was doing a bit more reading about the various types of Chinese desserts and found this informative guide. Thought I would share => https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/10/chinese-bakery-pastries-buns-egg-tarts-guide.html\
Recipe adapted from redhousespice.com’s Chinese Flower Rolls.
Interested in more Chinese food? Check out my Lucky Long Life Noodles post.
Or if you can’t get enough of fun buns to bake, try my cute Strawberry Bunny Buns. It’s sure to delight!
One of my favorite things to make with my kids are Pouffy Popovers, or the English calls them Yorkshire Pudding. I have a recipe that whips it up form start to finish in 45 minutes. Check it out here => How to Make Fun Pouffy Balloon Popovers!
When I want my family to eat lots of veggies without any complaints, I reach for my fail-safe colorful and delicious Ratatouille casserole. It’s one dish that is sure to please => How to Make Easy Colorful Veggies Ratatouille Casserole!
For special celebrations and you want just *that* sweet special cake, have you seen my 5 tiered meringue cake? It’s inspired by a recipe from Australia and they call it pavlova. Check it out here => The Astonishing and Delightful Pink Ombré Pavlova Cloud Cake
October 8, 2020. Sunny. Fun Pouffy Balloon Popovers. I adore making these popovers. This is one of those easy-peasy recipes that is a joy to make with kids. Before the pandemic, my son and I made these pouffy baked delights during a play-date with his …
October 7, 2020. Sunny and cool. Golden Crusty Rolls. I miss eating golden crusty rolls that are ubiquitous in European restaurants. They are usually served on the side with your order. It’s just the thing to go with your meal and tastes fabulous with just …
This popular and tasty Malaysian Roti Jala, literally translates to roti=bread, and jala = net. Malaysian Roti Jala is a lacy thin pancake crepe that is delicious eaten unadorned, or yummy served with stew or a savory spicy curry, especially Kari Ayam (Chicken Curry).
The other day I was craving comfort food and this immediately came to mind. Roti Jala is easy to make (hello blender!) and cooks up in a jiffy! In other words, if you know how to make pancakes, this will be a cinch.
The ingredients are pantry items – flour, eggs, milk and coconut milk. The gorgeous golden yellow color comes from turmeric powder. Simply put all ingredients into a blender and mix. The batter is then filled into a bottle and drizzled continuously onto a hot pan in circles, creating a gorgeous lacy net-like structure that is perfect to sop up all the delicious curry sauce from your plate!
The roti jala maker is a plastic condiment squeeze bottle with 3 nozzles. I bought one online and it looks like this.
You can also make your own roti jala maker with a clean dry plastic soda bottle. I like using a small (16oz) soda bottle since it’s easier to handle. Just puncture 3 little holes in the plastic soda cap, and that’s it!
P.S. It’s a good idea to check to make sure no small plastic bits are sticking to the cap before pouring in the batter.
To start, let’s gather all the ingredients to make the roti jala batter. We will be putting everything into a blender to make this simple batter.
We will need :
3 cups All Purpose Flour, sifted
2 cups Water
1 cup Coconut Milk, or regular Milk
1 Egg
1½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Salt
3 Tbs Coconut oil, and more for the pan
First, add all ingredients into blender. Then, secure the lid and blend well for 1 minute or until well combined.
Next, scrape down the side to make sure the flour is well incorporated into the mixture and no lumps can be seen. The batter should look like melted vanilla ice cream. Then, set aside.
Second, heat a large non stick pan using low to medium heat. Lightly oil the pan. To test if the pan is ready, put a few drops of batter into the pan. If the batter sizzles, it is ready.
Next, pour the batter into the plastic squeeze bottle/roti jala maker. Secure the cap firmly.
Gently squeeze the filled bottle to drizzle the batter in circles on the pan, in a slow and steady stream.
The roti cooks up quickly so watch the batter closely and adjust heat as necessary.
Since the roti is fairly thin, you’ll only need to cook it on one side. It is ready when the edges starts to turn lightly brown.
Then, remove promptly from the pan into a large plate, or working space.
Have a test run to get comfortable using the bottle and have a feel for the flow of the batter. Just like making crepes or pancakes, the first (and second!) piece of roti is always the cook’s test piece – to gauge how quickly the roti cooks.
Have fun creating different and unique lacy patterns!
There are really 2 popular ways to serve Malaysian Roti Jala. One is a simple fan shaped wedge, and it’ll look like this:
The roti is soft and pliable when warm. It is best to fold it into the desired presentation shape right out of the pan.
To make a fan shaped wedge, all you do is remove the cooked roti from pan to a working space. Then, quickly fold the roti in half, and fold it one more time, into a quarter. And it is done. It is that simple and straightforward.
For the pictures above, I folded the roti directly on the pan. Once you feel comfortable with the folding process, you can try folding the cooked roti directly on the pan before transferring to plate.
I personally prefer this fan shape roti jala because you can see the interesting lacy patterns. Also, I think it looks prettier on a plate, like the picture here.
The other popular shape is a log shaped style. It requires a few more steps and could look really cool when stacked and presented on a platter.
Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to fold into a log shape:
In conclusion, practice a few more times making this Tasty Malaysian Roti Jala and you’ll be folding them up like a pro! Have fun!
How about pairing Tasty Malaysian Roti Jala with a curry? Check out my post on how to put together a rich and flavorful lamb curry here => Jacques Pepin’s Amazing Spicy Lamb Curry with Apples and Potatoes
Have you ever tried Eggplant Parmesan, Hasselback style? This is my post on the fan shaped dish=>How to make Fan-Shaped Eggplant Parmesan. It’s a fun dish to put together.
For a fun dessert, check out this French Apple Tart => Fun French Apple Tart – Taking up Sara Moulton’s Challenge! I wrote about how I learned a new technique to slice the apples for quick assembly.
This gorgeous pull apart garlic bread pack punch with taste and presentation. Check out this post on how I put it together => Beautiful Pull-Apart Flower Petals Garlic Bread
This recipe was adapted from one of my favorite sites, Serious Eats https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/08/roti-jala-malaysian-pancake-recipe.html as well as from my good friend Saiful Alimin.
