Pumpkin Hee Pan 南瓜喜粄

The last time I made bao was many many years ago, easily can be 20 years ago. After started my baking journey, although always come across my mind to make bao but I just didn't make it happen. Feel a bit leceh (troublesome), need to prepare the dough, need to cook the ingredients, need to wrap the bao, need to steam the bao... seem so many steps that making me back out hahaha....

However after seeing so many posts on the Hakka Hee Pan from the Chinese bloggers, I was curious on how it taste like. Ya, I never taste hee pan before, very suaku (country bumpkin) lol. And with so much raving about it, I decided to try to make it so I can taste it :D.

I made a mistake to pour all the water into the flour instead of add in slowly. The dough became so sticky that I need to keep adding in more flour :(. I also pressed the hee pan too much that making it looks so flat lol. The color of my pumpkin hee pan is quite pale too, not those bright sunny color. Next time must get those really bright yellow orange color of pumpkin to get nicer color.

Recipe adapted from 小雨伞的天空 

Ingredients :

250g plain flour, sifted

250g glutinous rice flour, sifted

150g castor sugar

6g instant yeast

270g pumpkin

235ml water

30g canola oil

Banana leaves or parchment paper or cupcake case

Method :

1. Dissolve the instant yeast in the water, mix well.
2. Remove the pumpkin skin, cut pumpkin into small pieces, steamed for 10 mins until soft, mash with fork. Let it cool and set aside.
3. Wash and clean the banana leaves, steam to soften and cut into square.
4. Mix plain flour, glutinous rice flour, sugar, pumpkin puree, yeast water and knead till dough is smooth.
5. Add in oil bit by bit, mix well with the dough. If dough is too sticky, use the plastic spatula to scrape.
6. Divide dough into 50g portions (do not need to proof), brush some oil on palm and roll into balls.
7. Place the ball onto the greased banana leaves or parchment paper and flatten it using palm.
8. Let the shaped hee pan proof for 25-30 mins.
9. Use finger to press the hee pan, fermented hee pan will be spongy, once ready can start to boil water in the steamer.
10. Once water is boiled, steam the hee pan for 12 mins at medium low heat. Turn off the fire immediately. 11. Do not remove the hee pan from the steamer.
12. Open the steamer lid a bit for 5 mins, then remove the lid carefully not to let water drip on the hee pan. (obviously I didn’t do a good job hahaha…)
13. Remove the hee pan and cool on the rack.


Verdict?
The hee pan is very soft and chewy, dun taste like mantou, dun taste like bao, so hard to describe the taste but definitely taste not bad for me when 1st piece, when ate 2nd piece the next day, actually kind of more like it, is like the more you eat, the nicer it is lol. The hee pan tasted good even when is cooled, tasted better the next day. The pumpkin taste is not very distinct and the hee pan is not so sweet too, can add in slightly a bit more sugar next time. Surprisingly, I have a lot of supporters on these hee pan, I didn't know there will be so many people like it, dear daughter is one of them. She ate 2 at one go and wanted to eat more but stopped by me, I do not want these hee pan to become her dinner lol. Definitely gonna make again, perhaps pandan flavour :D.

I'm submitting this post to  Aspiring Bakers #31 - Bao Ho-Chiak (May 2013) hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders