Lately, I haven't been feeling too much of it. This month has been giving me a lot of heartache (literally). I just had a lot on my plate in the past few months: Applications, interviews, my grandfather's passing and flying to and from China in less than 1.5 weeks, writing a thesis, my first ER trip after falling down and almost losing consciousness from landing on my spine, then really lost consciousness for a few minutes after my heart rate dropped before a concert and took my second trip to the ER, sick for a week after the second trip to the ER and pushed through that to write my thesis, and now I'm going to a bunch of doctors appointments next week for my heart. I just felt like I wasn't good enough and that I failed myself and everyone else. It was not a happy time.
I'm very grateful for my friends and family. Thanks for helping me get through these tough times.
So here is my gift to you. I am going to post my recipe for Pineapple filled Bolo Bao.
My Experience with Bolo Bao
If you've ever bought Bolo Baos in Chinatown, you'd notice that there is nothing in them. Sometimes there is red bean filling or custard filling but most times, Bolo Bao is just bread with a yellowish crusty top. Bolo in Chinese means Pineapple and Bao means bread. So why is it called Pineapple Bread if there is no pineapple inside? The answer lies in the way it looks on the outside. The outer crusty layer looks like pineapple after it is baked and therefore it is called pineapple bread even though there is no pineapple inside.
I got this idea from tasting mini pineapple filled Bolo Bao in Xiaolan, China at the Tien Tien Yu Chun (天天魚村) restaurant that my mother's side of the family frequents. It was served as a desert. This is the only place that has actual pineapple in their Bolo Baos that I know of at least. I fell in love with it immediately and vowed to remake this in America for my belly.
Fast forward 3.5 years and I'm about to come home from my emergency trip to China. My last day was spent in Hong Kong. I spent some time at a local bookstore and bought a lot of cookbooks.
Everything is in grams because that's what people use over there. There are no tsp, tbsp, etc... so I had to weigh everything out on an old-school scale that measures only in lbs and then convert everything to grams and then to tsp, etc. This is why it took me 7 hours.. I did lots of math.
I also spent a day thinking about how to make the pineapple filling.. what kind of pineapple, the ingredients, and then the method. So this is my creation based of what I ate in China :)
RECIPE for BOLO BAO with PINEAPPLE FILLING
菠蘿菠蘿包
Pineapple Filling:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup white sugar
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup canned pineapple (no sugar added, crushed pinapple)
3/4 cup of pineapple juice from can.
1 Tbsp butter
This is going to make more than enough of pineapple filling. I'm sure there will be left overs for other things like pineapple pie... mmm... drool..
Directions:
1. Use a double boiler*
2. In the top of the double boiler over boiling water, add the sugar, salt, and flour and mix.
3. Stir in the egg, pineapple, and pineapple juice
4. Stir until mixture is thick
5. Stir in butter
6. Remove from heat
7. Taste test: At this point before it cools completely, you may stir in a bit more of sugar if you want it sweeter. Some recipes call for 1/2 cup of sugar but I think 1/4 is enough.
8. Allow the filling to cool and set aside.
* If you don't have a double boiler like me, then use 2 pots of different size. The first pot should be slightly larger than the second. Fill this 1/3 of this first pot with water and boil over stove. Then put the second pot in the boiling water and follow instructions above.
** The double boiler allows the ingredients (like the sugar/flour) to cook without burning and sticking to the pot.
BOLO BAO (makes 16)
Sweet Dough
Ingredients:
3 cups and 2 Tbsp of Bread Flour
3/4 cup of warm water
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 egg
1 packet or 2-1/4 tsp of yeast
1/4 cup of milk
3 Tbsp of butter
a few drops of yellow food coloring (at your discretion)
Directions:
1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Knead on a table until it is elastic, smooth, and not sticky. (lol I have never kneaded bread in my life so I learned by watching a video on YouTube while making this: Kneading Bread Techniques)
3. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Allow it to just sit and ferment for about 30 minutes.
4. Take out dough and gently press several times and then put it back in the bowl for another 30 minutes.
Pineapple Crust
Ingredients:
1.5 cups of soft flour (you can find this in a Chinese market)
2 Tbsp and 1 tsp of dry milk powder
~1-2 Tbsp of condensed milk
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp of evaporated milk
1 Tbsp of butter
78ml of olive oil
pinch of baking soda (1g)
Yellow food coloring (Add more drops than the dough)
Egg Washing
Ingredients:
Beaten Egg
Directions:
1. Mix all of the ingredients and then flatten on table.
2. Cut into 16 portions.
Putting Everything Together
1. Divide the dough into 16 portions.
2. Roll into 16 balls and let sit on greased baking tray for 30 minutes.
3. Open up the dough balls and then spoon in the pineapple filling.
4. Roll the dough containing the filling back into buns.
5. Put a piece of pineapple crust on the top of each bun.
6. Brush on the beaten egg
7. Bake at 392 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes*
8. Allow to cool before serving
* this may take longer depending on your oven. Mine takes longer than 10 minutes. Make sure your bread is golden brown before taking out. Check periodically.
And there you have it. Bolo Bao with Pineapple Filling.
Enjoy!!
