Viet World Kitchen

Gluten-Free Bun Trilogy: Dough, Baked Buns, Steamed Buns

It started last week with an email from a gluten-free Asian dumpling lover who asked about Indonesian buns (bao) made of rice flour dough. Then there was a tweet from @chubbybuns_shop in Boise, Idado, asking if I’d ever made gluten-free bao. I have poked and held enough loaves of gluten-free breads to know that it would be a challenge to create fluffy, chewy dough that could be baked and steamed.

Marvin of Burnt Lumpia asked if I knew how to make Filipino rice flour siopao (stuffed bao). No I didn’t but figured that the Filipinos may mix rice flour with other flours. Given the Filipino- style bao, I figured that I could come up with something. I wasn’t a fool for taking on the challenge of creating gluten-free bao dough.

I looked through several gluten-free sources and decided to base the dough recipe on a cinnamon roll dough from Cybele Pascal’s reliable Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook. I chose it because it had similar elements as my regular bao dough in Asian Dumplings: flour, fat, sugar, liquid, and leavening. It wasn’t such a big leap, going from Western cinnamon rolls to stuffed Asian buns.

Chile Salt for Fruit and Veggies (Bot Muoi Ot)

I made the mistake of buying a so-so watermelon recently. It weighed over 8 pounds and looked decent on the outside but was flabby tasting on the inside. Watermelon, unlike other melons, does not ripen further after harvest. I was stuck with it. My husband wanted to throw it out and start over.

Wait, I said, let’s try some chile salt on the melon and see if we can perk up its taste. Fruit (melon, papaya, mango, pineapple, tart apple) and vegetables (jicama, cucumber) are often enjoyed with chile salt in tropical Asia; Latins share the same foodway. The result is a certain refreshing sweet heat on the palate.

I’d bought the following jars of chile salt. One is Vietnamese and the other is Latin (I got it while I was in Texas).

While both had salt, sugar, chile powder, and citric acid, the Trechas brand included colorant and preservative. I’d had the Viet one around for a year and it had changed color. However, the Viet one had more salt than sugar and a delicate tang and heat that sparked up the watermelon nicely. I liked its taste on its own. The Trechas was tangy more than anything else and lacked a pleasant flavor.

Giant Fried Jiaozi Dumplings Recipe

Dumplings can transport you to another place. I read about these jiaozi (the generic term for Chinese dumplings) in Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s Beyond the Great Wall, a travelogue and cookbook about relatively remote parts of China. They came across these supersized dumplings (each is 7 to 8 inches wide) in Lhasa, Tibet, at the market near the Barkhor, the walking route encircling the Jokhang Temple. There was a certain rusticity about the recipe and cooking technique that captivated me.

The dumpling maker was from Hunan and her gingery vegan filling of noodles, mushroom, and pressed tofu was unlike the meat-centric ones typically found in Tibetan momo dumplings (if you’re interested, there are a several momo recipes in Asian Dumplings). In fact, locals found the Hunanese dumplings to be exotic.

I found the dumplings unusual because of their size, weren't eaten with sauce, and were slightly stretched before being dropped into oil and deep-fried to a crisp. From Alford and Duguid’s description, I imagined that they looked like big fried pies more than the dainty Chinese dumplings.  They seemed kinda crazy and cool.

After realizing that the photo at the top doesn’t do justice to the dumplings’ size, I took this shot of one in my hand:


I had to give the giant jiaozi dumplings a try. Last night I made the filling and this morning, I prepared the dough. I used the Basic Dumpling Dough from Asian Dumplings, which is very similar to that is prescribed in Beyond the Great Wall. Everything came together just in time for lunch. Instead of eating the jiaozi out of hand like a street food, Rory and I enjoyed the dumplings with a salad, imagining ourselves exploring Lhasa.

Thai Chicken Biryani Recipe (Khao Mok Gai)

Trade, travel, and empire have fused together the cuisines of Asia in many delectable ways. This spiced chicken-and-rice dish reflects the Muslim-Indian-Thai culinary marriage.

You may not know of khao mok gai (also spelled kao mok gai) but it is deliciously complex in perfume and flavor. In fact, in the span of a week, I ate it three (3) times while I was in Sydney, one of the greatest places for Thai food outside of Thailand! Go to one of the Chat Thai restaurants for a very good rendition.

Hell bent on replicating it, I found a recipe in David Thompson’s new book, Thai Street Food.  I’ve made it several times, the first following the recipe and it was superb. Then I tweaked it slightly for the resulting khao mok gai recipe below. (Disclosure: I provided an official book jacket endorsement for Thai Street Food. Thompson’s recipe for this dish was one of the reasons why.)

Get ready. Khao mok gai takes time to make. It is not straightforward and quick like last week's Thai grilled chicken (gai yang), though you can mix a little of that lovely sweet chile sauce into the rice, if you want to.

But if you make this Thai version of biryani, you’ll have enough for 8 people, or several rounds of eating. Add a salad and you’ve got a celebratory meal that will be sure to WOW your family and friends.

A few notes:

• Basmati is my substitute for the aged long-grain rice (e.g. jasmine) that would likely be used in Thailand.
• The use of dairy (here it's yogurt) and combining cilantro and mint is unusual for Thai cooking but it works for this hybrid dish.
• The chicken and rice are great on their own but add some tart-spicy-sweet sauce and it enlivens the entire dish, making it bright and spritely. The spicy mint sauce below is akin to an Indian green chutney but the galangal zing skews it toward Thailand. Or, you can use some sweet Thai chile sauce.
• Make the paste and fry the shallots a day in advance to get a head start.
• Use a heavy-bottomed, large, wide pot that you would braise a big stew to ensure that things cook evenly. I used an All Clad 6-quart pan.
• Thai cardamom is available at well-stocked Thai markets but regular green cardamom works great.

Thai cardamom (left), Indian green cardamon (right)

Dive into the khao mok gai recipe below and parse the cultural influences as you cook and eat. For more background information on khao mok gai, read "Biryani, Bangkok Style" by Austin Bush, a photographer and writer in Bangkok.

What is Street Food? -- 2010 Eat Real Festival

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This Friday evening, I'm participating in the Lit Fest at the 2010 Eat Real Festival. There are about a dozen writers invited to talk about street food at the Oakland event that spans 3 days. The Eat Real Festival is kinda like the Woodstock of food. It's free too!

Friday night's theme is Street Food.  I'm in  the 7 to 9pm line-up with some buddies of mine as well as other writers and chefs whose work I admire: Pim of Chez Pim, John Birdsall of SF Weekly, Rachel Saunders of the Blue Chair Fruit, Gustavo Arellano of Ask a Mexican, Anamika Khanna of Kasa Indian, Richie Nakano of Hapa Ramen, Sara Deseran of 7x7 magazine, and David Boyk of California Taco Trucks.

The other themes cover  making, growing, and finding food (Saturday), and food storytelling (Sunday). All the Lit Fest events happen on the second floor of the Harvest Hall of Jack London Square. See more details at the Eat Real Fest site.

Back to the photos. Preparing for my 10-minute talk (it's short but has to be potent!), I reflected on street food that I've enjoyed during my time in Asia and America.

The images above are from my travels spanning 2003 to 2010. Use the "Notes" function to see my descriptions and comments for each photo. There are about 24 photos here and they're helping me ponder issue such as:

• What is street food?
• What is Asian street food? Is it different from others?
• How can we get good street food all over America?

Your thoughts?

Instead of gawking at street food photos, you can always make some. Here are few Asian street food recipes on my two sites:

Viet World Kitchen

• Master Banh Mi Recipe
• Thai Grilled Chicken Recipe (Gai Yang)
• Green papaya salad with beef jerky (Goi Du Du Kho Bo)
• Beef in Wild Betel Leaf (Thit Bo Nuong La Lot)
• Taiwanese Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian)
• Beef Pho Noodle Soup (Pho Bo)
• Chicken Pho Noodle Soup (Pho Ga)
• Hu Tieu Nam Vang (Phnom Penh Noodle Soup)

Asian Dumpling Tips

• Steamed Chicken and Shiitake Mushroom Buns (Bao)
• Japanese Octopus Dumpling Balls (Takoyaki)
• Portuguese Egg Tart (Poh Taht, Pasteis de Belem)
• Japanese Braised Pork Belly Buns