White Chocolate Steamed Bread ホウイトチョコ蒸しパン

When I posted the Strawberry & Milk Steamed Cake/bread last week, I was able sense that there is significant interests out there in steamed bread/cakes. Undoubtedly Asian by origin, these steamed bread/ cakes probably had their roots in all the steamed dumplings and steamed buns that our forefathers were eating.

Huat Kuey/Fatt Ko has never been a glamorous item on our to-eat list. Most either associate these with those hard and dense cakes sitting on the worship altars or coarse, rustic poor man's food- at least, those are my impression.

It is always delightful to find interesting interpretations on set ideas and cliches. All it takes is some curious and creative soul to wonder out of the box a little and the possibilities become endless - the dated can be transformed to become current, the boring and tacky can suddenly become interesting and chic....
This was the excitement I felt as I first flipped through the Steamed Bread Cook Book.



The last post on Strawberry & Milk Steamed Bread was based on the a very basic vegan recipe, without eggs and oil. There are a total of 3 basic recipes for the steamed bread, the second one is demonstrated here with the White Chocolate Steam Bread recipe. Containing egg and a little oil, this recipe ought to be softer than the first but because I ran out of Top flour and Rice flour, I susbtituted with the only flour I have in my pantry - which is the cake flour.  Texture is, I feel, denser than the last one made with rice flour. Nevertheless, it was good enough to have my neighbour stop by after eating it to ask me how I made it - did I put condensed milk in it, she asked.... The creamy white chocolate saved the day. Hmm... I wonder if my deceased ancestors will like these if I were to use them for prayer next time... now- that's turning the current dated!

I am going to stock up on more flour and experiment with the third basic recipe later this week. Look out for it.


Recipe :

1                   Egg
45g               Black Sugar (I used the Japanese black sugar. 黑砂糖)
60ml             Milk

100g             Top flour / Plain flour
1tsp              Baking powder for steamed cakes

10ml             Salad oil
35g               White chocolate

Method :

1. Heat water in a pot to boiling and stand by for steaming.
2. In a mixing bowl, add egg, sugar and mix with a hand whip until well combined. Add milk and mix until sugar dissolves.
3. Add flour and baking powder until a smooth paste is obtained. Incoporate oil into the batter.
4. Pour batter into lined pudding cups.
5. Add white chocolate into each cup.
6. Steam over medium heat for 12- 15mins.