Chinese Steamed Buns 饅頭

Ladies and gentlemen:

What you're about to read is a time-elapsed entry.  It started at 3:17 AM on Saturday morning, took a 7 hour break, then reconvened at 10:17 AM.  

In other words: I fell asleep.

The following is the portion that I was able to churn out before I succumbed to my billowy sheets and soft pillows:

Get your mind out of the gutter!

Chinese steamed buns... get it?  I'm Chinese... steamed... buns... ha ha... nevermind.

Okay, I apologize.  It's 3:17 AM and I'm sitting here, pretty much delirious from exhaustion but still suffering from a sudden bout (that's been recurring) of insomnia.  Lovely, isn't it?

Then I fell asleep.

The following portion is what happened after I woke up, refreshed:

My family has always been one of those very religious and traditional Chinese families.  Although that may indicate a lot of work (which I will describe later) centered around this time of year, I consider it to be a blessing.  

Since my dad was the eldest of sons, my paternal grandparents lived with my immediate family.  I loved it, though, since my grandparents were beautiful, excellent people who adored children and valued family.  Because my grandparents had a great relationship with their children, my aunt and uncle frequently visited from Taiwan, bringing their own children (my cousins) along for the trip.  They almost always visited around Chinese New Year, too, adding more laughter, excitement and chatter to the household.  

I believe that is why I love holidays - it conjures up memories of a simpler time, when happiest moments sprouted from family gatherings and everyone was generally in good spirits.

Anyway, so as a little girl, I remember my mom and grandmother making these beautiful, round steamed buns; they're called Mantou (饅頭).  It was a long process, as they had to be rolled out and pressed repeatedly until the dough became stickier and softer.  The prepared buns then went into the huge bamboo steamer until it plumped up and became twice their size.  

Last night, I helped my mom for the first time with preparing steamed buns.  She took out the huge wooden cutting board (that we only use for rolling out dough) and portioned up the dough to make however-many steamed buns.  I rolled out and punched and rolled out repeatedly until all were done.  My mom then rolled them into balls and topped with some dried, small red dates.  After all were prepared, they all went into the bamboo steamer.  

And this is the result:

The dates plumped up, too, after steaming.  This is the traditional Chinese "bread," and the dates add just a tiny bit of sweetness to the soft yet chewy "mantou."  

Have a great weekend.  I'll be back to post another dish (a sweet treat) prepared for and eaten on Chinese New Year.