fried mantou are they really fried?

[origamicrane]

hi again

I'm making chilli crab this weekend and want the full authentic experience of serving it with fried mantou.

I have a recipe for the mantou

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=60722

but the question i have is do you really deep fry the mantou?

as it looks to me like it will just soak up all the oil?

I remeber the fried mantou wasn't an overly oily bread

so do you just brush with oil and bake or do you really just deep fry until golden?

thanks

[Gastro888]

I would guess that the temperature would have to be high enough that you fry the mantou and get a cracklin' crust outside and soft insides. Why not try making smaller mantou (instead of gi-normous ones) to make it easier to control the deep frying process?

Anything will soak up oil if you don't have a good frying technique. Test some out and see what the optimal temperature and time is.

I wonder what would happen if you brush it with an egg wash and THEN deep fried it? How would the crust turn out?

[origamicrane]

yeah plan to just make a small patch for personal consumption

so didn't want to lose too much of the batch experiementing.

But the ones I had in singapore where about the size of a large plun and golden rea,lly nice and didn't feel oily to the touch so had a suspicion they might have been glazed and baked.

but will give it a try and see

[PCL]

There's a great scene in the recent Hongkong Kung-Fu comedy, "Shaolin Soccer" where a petite lady uses Tai-Chi techniques to form the mantou dough...

... superb... Gastrodudette888, I think a martial-arts cooking thread is in order!!!!....

[origamicrane]

hmm....

chow sing chi - god of cookery - sick sun

film i thought was a little poor but i wanted to try the food they cooked in the competition at the start , apart from the plastic sugar heart sign.

( if you never seen the film you have no idea what i am talking about!! )

[LT Wong]

yeah plan to just make a small patch for personal consumption

so didn't want to lose too much of the batch experiementing.

But the ones I had in singapore where about the size of a large plun and golden rea,lly nice and didn't feel oily to the touch so had a suspicion they might have been glazed and baked.

but will give it a try and see

←

Yes, they are deep-fried. As Gastro888 said, you must have the right temperature for deep frying. Try to have the mantou at room temperature before you deep fry. And experimenting first is definitely a good idea.

At the restaurants, they have temperatures that are impossible to duplicate at home on domestic ranges.

Good luck.

[origamicrane]

thats where i'm in luck

as i got a chinese restuarant with all the right equipment :) heheh

[Transparent]

Mmm, deep fried mantau sounds excessively unhealthy and delicious. Awesome. :D I don't think you would need actual restaurant equipment to deep fry bread though. I mean, super hot temperature would make the oil smoke.

A bit off topic: Steven Chow's(from Shaolin Soccer) new movie is out. Kung Fu Hustle. It's supposed to be extremely funny.

[LT Wong]

Off topic too.

I can vouch for Kung Fu Hustle; it's really funny. Those of us old enough will be able to recognise settings and storylines from some old Hong Kong movies (House of 72 Tenants for one) and other more contemporary movies.

[origamicrane]

just made my first patch on mantou. hmm...

2 things

the recipe i used turn out a very bland mantou

i know mantou is bland but this is really bland.

i think there too much baking powder as their is a slightly chemical taste.

second the mantou when steamed are yellowish and not the bright white that you get in restaurants i used plain flour guess i better go and locate some bleached stuff.

but all in all they look ok and smell ok too.

will fry up one later and post photos.

stay tuned

[Gastro888]

There's a great scene in the recent Hongkong Kung-Fu comedy, "Shaolin Soccer" where a petite lady uses Tai-Chi techniques to form the mantou dough...

... superb... Gastrodudette888, I think a martial-arts cooking thread is in order!!!!....

←

You're on!!! Bring the dough, baby!

I think the temperature is critical. Try a high temperature at first - 400?

[origamicrane]

hey i did some experimenting with tehdough. for fried mantou are you meant to steam the bun first then deep fry it?

or just deep fry the raw dough??

as i did both and deep frying the raw dough on its own as thin pancakes gave a really nice tast and texture like a thin and crispypizza base but nicer

going tomake another batch tonight with a little more sugar and yeast and a longer rising period

[Transparent]

Haha, deep frying mantou dough and deep frying mantou are totally different. How did the steamed batch go? Did you use baking powder exclusively in the recipe? I've always used yeast in mine.

[Jon Tseng]

Definitely deep-fry; steam first then deep-fry

difference is between say fried bread in uk fry-up and deep-fried bread - much crunchier, crispier, overall browner

you can either fry little ones or steam full-size ones, slice about half an inch thick and deep-fry the slices (very traditional northern chiense breakfast food... esp dipped in neat evaporated milk)

dunno whats the recipe for properly tasty steamed ones... do notice they are normally a bit sweet. add sugar perhaps?

J

[origamicrane]

Haha, deep frying mantou dough and deep frying mantou are totally different.  How did the steamed batch go? Did you use baking powder exclusively in the recipe? I've always used yeast in mine.

←

I used this recipe

1/2 tsp Active dry yeast and 5 Tbsp warm water 1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp Plus 1 tsp Lard

1 3/4 cup Bleached flour

2 tsp Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Baking powder

5 Tbsp Milk, lukewarm

1 tsp Vegetable oil

well i steamed about 8 mantou the texture was a little bit chewy as think i didn't knead it long enough.

but there was a ever so slight chemical taste think it was the baking powder

not sure but i'm going to reduce the baking power and increase the yeast in my next batch.

I had about 2 mantou worth of dough left so i just flattened a piece and put it in to the fryer it puffed up like a flying saucer and browned really nicely and when I tasted it was quite nice

and the fried steamed mantou seem to burn quite quickly in the fryer so was a little confused if you were just meant to fry the dough

well cooking is all experimenting really

any advice on my mantou recipe ?

[UkFoodie]

A bit strange that you are using Yeast and Baking Powder.

The baking powder needs an acid to make it work, but the recipe has nothing acidic in it. That is definatly whee you are getting your chemical taste from.

I'd leave out the baking powder.

[origamicrane]

A bit strange that you are using Yeast and Baking Powder.

The baking powder needs an acid to make it work, but the recipe has nothing acidic in it. That is definatly whee you are getting your chemical taste from.

I'd leave out the baking powder.

←

hmm.. good point.

I think that i'm about to post this the baking forum as a lot of therecipes i seen for steamed bread ask for some baking powder.??

transparent you know anything about this?

[Transparent]

Actually, I've always used both baking powder and yeast. To my knowledge, double acting baking powder doesn't require additional acid to leaven. At least, that's the principle that I've been working with all this time...

[origamicrane]

Actually, I've always used both baking powder and yeast. To my knowledge, double acting baking powder doesn't require additional acid to leaven. At least, that's the principle that I've been working with all this time...

←

how much baking power and yeast do you use?

1:1 ratio? or like my recipe 3:1?

as my mantou did taste a little chemical.

[origamicrane]

posted this on the pastry and baking forum and been told that the baking powder will stop the mantou from shrinking and going wrinkly when it starts to cool down

Edited February 22, 2005 by origamicrane (log)

[Transparent]

You've got it. Mine is 1:1.

[origamicrane]

You've got it. Mine is 1:1.

←

thank you :) just made some lap cheoung rolls :)

wicked !! they look the part are taste really good !!

no chemcial taste either.

maybe i should make the rolls thinner but taste wise they are wicked!!!

so final recipe was:

1t yeast

1t sugar

5T warm water

mix and sit for 10 minutes

1 3/4 cups flour ( i used 00 just because i had some)

1T sugar

1T lard (shortening or oil)

3/4t baking powder

1t salt

place into a food processor and blitz for a minute

then while the processor is on pour in the yeast and water mix and then the warm milk until it forms a dough. Knead dough for 10 minutes and then let rise for 2 hours.

punch down, divide into 16 pieces. shape let rest for 15 minute and then steam for 15 minutes.

made 8 mantou and 8 with some chinese wax sausages in as a filling

lap cheoung rolls yum

by the way the one on the far right is an uncooked one.

Edited February 22, 2005 by origamicrane (log)

[Transparent]

You recipe is pretty similar to mine, except I don't use any fat in mine. In fact, I've never used any fat for steamed doughs. I also use less sugar in mine. I usually make about a dozen in a batch (basically 2x your recipe). I let them rise overnight in the fridge once. They were overproofed and deflated... They looked flat and wrinkley. It was kind of funny, actually.

My grandma and sister (the only other people who will eat mantou in my family) say mine are better than the ones from Chinatown. Of course, mine can't compare with the ones I've had as a child. Humongous, chewy, and so good hot. It was worth the burned fingers to eat. Unfortunately, no store makes them that good anymore. I have a feeling they were bought from old women selling off the street. Now they're all gone...

[origamicrane]

You recipe is pretty similar to mine, except I don't use any fat in mine. In fact, I've never used any fat for steamed doughs. I also use less sugar in mine. I usually make about a dozen in a batch (basically 2x your recipe). I let them rise overnight in the fridge once. They were overproofed and deflated... They looked flat and wrinkley. It was kind of funny, actually. 

My grandma and sister (the only other people who will eat mantou in my family) say mine are better than the ones from Chinatown. Of course, mine can't compare with the ones I've had as a child. Humongous, chewy, and so good hot. It was worth the burned fingers to eat. Unfortunately, no store makes them that good anymore. I have a feeling they were bought from old women selling off the street. Now they're all gone... 

←

I think the mantou of your childhood were probably a mix of your child tastebuds, nostalgia and more sugar and lard in them

But know when you eat some foods for the very first time and you are blown away and on subsequent meals you're not nearly as blown away, even though it is identical.

I think its just a matter of your familiarity with the taste and higher expectations.

[origamicrane]

here you go deep fried mantou

yummy!!!

only take 40 seconds to fry into a lovely golden brown, taste crispy on the outside and soft , warm and sweet on the inside.

success!!!

Edited February 23, 2005 by origamicrane (log)