Curry Chicken Pau ~Bun. 'Malaysian Monday No. 10'

There's this famous coffee shop in Tanjung Malim, Perak ..... 'Yik Mun' that sells Hainanese curry chicken pau/buns and also pau with different fillings like curry beef, red bean paste and kaya/coconut jam.  As it is a certified halal outlet, other than the Chinese, Malays and Indians also frequent this shop and it's normally packed during breakfast and lunch.  We used to exit @ the Tanjung Malim toll exit and head to this shop  for the curry chicken pau.  You can hop over to this site for more goodies from Yik Mun.

Coming back to my curry chicken pau .... no they're not Hainanese pau, just simple pau from my humble kitchen, yummy too but then not so uniform in shape as they're handmade.   I must truly admit that I still have a long way to go to master the art of pau pleating!

This pau is delcicious, just simply love the chewy pau infused with the curry flavour ....... Join me!

Ingredients for curry chicken (Best to cook this a day before)

• 400 gm free range chicken - cut into small pieces
• 6 shallots - pounded
• 2 pips garlic - pounded
• 2 lemon grass - crushed
• 3 small potatoes - diced
• 4 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup coconut milk/soymilk (I used soymilk)
• 1 small piece cinnamon
• 2 pips star anise/cloves
• 1/2 tsp chicken granules
• Curry leaves
• Oil for frying

Preparation

1. Season the chicken pieces with 2 tsp of curry powder, set aside.
2. Heat up some oil in a pan and saute the pounded shallots and garlic till fragrant.
3. Mix the remaining curry powder with some water to form a paste, add into the garlic mixture, toss in some curry leaves, cinnamon and cloves, stir-fry.
4. Mix in the diced potatoes, stir-fry for a while, add in the salt and add in the seasoned chicken pieces as well.
5. Add in the coconut milk and cook till the potatoes and chicken are cooked through and the curry is quite thick.
6. Add in the chicken granules and fine tune to taste.
7. Dish out and once cooled, refrigerate till ready for use.

Ingredients for Skin

• 500 gm Pau flour/Hong Kong flour
• 2.1/2  flat tsp yeast
• 100 ml lukewarm water
• 125 gm caster sugar
• 5 tsp shortening
• 2.1/8 flat tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 100ml water + 1 tsp

Preparation
(A)

1. Mix dried yeast with lukewarm water, stir.
2. Add in 130 gm sifted pau flour, mix well and roughly form into a ball of dough.  Set aside for 15 mins.

(B)

1. Mix the balance 370 gm sifted pau flour with the baking powder, sugar and salt.
2. Pour (B) into (A).
3. Add in shortening and water sparingly, knead till dough doesn't stick onto the hands.
4. Cover dough with a wet cloth, place in a warm place and let dough prove till double in bulk, around 1 hr to 1.1/2 hr.
5. Knock dough to expel some air, knead for some time.  Roll out onto a floured board.  Weigh out 50 gm dough, roughly form into a ball.  While you are working with a ball of dough, cover the rest with a damp cloth  to prevent them from being exposed to air and getting flaky.  Makes  18 pau. 
6. Roll out the ball of dough lightly and cup it into the palm of your hand and spoon in some filling.  Pleat up the sides of the pau. Put the pau on a piece of greaseproof paper and place them on the steamer rack.
7. Set them aside for another 15 mins, and meanwhile prepare the steamer with water.
8. Steam pau under rapidly boiling water for 10-12 mins.
9. Quickly and carefully remove the steamer cover so that condensed steam will not drip onto the pau.
10. Remove the pau from the steamer rack and serve hot.

Do find out more from this site.