Chinese Sweet Potato Steamed Buns With Spicy Surinamese Filling

These soft, tender sweet potato buns pay homage to both Creole and Chinese cuisine by infusing the concept of steamed buns with a filling inspired by Surinamese cooking. The filling is made with celery leaves and adjuma peppers, two common ingredients in Surinamese cusine, and is enveloped in a tender sweet potato dough. Adding sweet potato to the dough makes the dough a little sweet and adds a nice, golden color to the buns, along with a pinch of turmeric.

CHINESE SWEET POTATO STEAMED BUNS WITH SPICY SURINAMESE FILLING [VEGAN]

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DOUGH:

• 1 cup non-dairy milk
• 2 tablespoon raw cane sugar
• 1 packet instant yeast
• 1 medium-sized sweet potato
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• Turmeric, for color (optional)

FOR THE FILLING:

• 8.8 ounces cooked kidney beans
• 1 large red onion
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot
• 1 handful celery leaves
• 1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 adjuma pepper (optional, see notes)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

1. Start by chopping the onion, garlic, and carrot. Sauté these in some oil on a medium/low heat for about 5 minutes (If you don’t eat oil, try using water).
2. Now add the remaining ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes while mashing some of the beans in the process, this will make filling the buns a bit easier, while adding a nice texture to the filling. Add salt and pepper to taste and let the filling completely chill.

TO MAKE THE DOUGH:

1. Start by activating the yeast. Take a bowl and add the warm water and sugar, then add the pack of yeast. Now let this bloom for about 5-10 minutes in a warm place.
2. Once the yeast has bloomed, add the oil, mashed sweet potato, baking powder, and flour to the bowl and mix until you get a soft and dough. You can use a food processor to mix the dough for about 15 minutes or so or you can knead it by hand. During this process, you can add a pinch of turmeric to enhance the color.
3. Now add the ball of dough to a bowl, cover it, and set it somewhere warm to let it rise for about 60 minutes.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, knead the dough a little and separate the dough into about 10 little balls. Using a rolling pin, flatten them out until about 1/4-inch and add a small tablespoon of the filling in the middle. Now, pinch to close the tops and roll it into a little ball.

TO MAKE THE BUNS:

1. Add a piece of parchment paper in your steamer and place the buns on top, keeping in mind that they will expand as they cook.  Steam the buns for about 15 minutes and repeat until done.

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