Pink Baozi

Mix the flour with the salt in a large bowl, warm the beetroot juice to lukewarm, stir in the sugar and yeast and leave to rise for 5 minutes. Then slowly add the juice to the flour while kneading continuously. To ensure that the yeast dough rises well, knead the mixture for a few minutes with your hands or a food processor. Place the dough in a bowl greased with sesame oil, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in volume.

The waiting time is great for preparing the filling. First, roughly pull apart the planted.pulled with 2 forks, then fry hot with a tbsp of sesame oil. After about 3 minutes, deglaze with a tbsp of soy sauce and set aside. Peel the ginger. Chop the carrot, garlic, mushrooms and the ginger as small as possible and then fry with the remaining oil. Add the soy sauce and continue to sauté until no more liquid comes out. Mix the planted.pulled with the remaining filling and let it cool down well.

For the sauce, press or chop the garlic as small as possible and then mix with the other ingredients until a homogeneous mass is formed. Add more water if necessary.

Once the dough has doubled in size, you can remove it from the bowl and knead it well again on a floured surface. Then cut it into about 10-12 equal parts and form into balls. The balls are rolled out in a circle, whereby the edges should be slightly thinner than the middle area of the dough circles (see photos). The dough circles should be about 10 cm in diameter. If the dough gets small cracks due to the additional flour, this is not a big deal, as these will disappear again during steaming.

You need about 2 heaped tbsps of filling per baozi. Place it in the centre of the dough circle, then close each baozi with your index finger and thumb (see photos). Pull the dough up slightly, make a fold and press together. While keeping the thumb in the same position, keep pulling and pressing individual folds of dough until finally the entire baozi is sealed. Allow the finished baozi to rest for a further 20 minutes so that they rise well once again.

Preparation Option 1: If you have a steamer or a bamboo cooker, the next step is easy. Place the baozi on the steamer tray (preferably with baking paper underneath so they don't stick) Bring about 5cm of water to the boil in the steamer or pot and steam the baozi for about 12 minutes. Keep the lid closed for another 3 minutes, otherwise the baozi will collapse.

Option 2: If you don't have a steamer, that's not a problem. You can also take a colander, line it with baking paper, hang it in a pot and place the lid over it. However, you should make sure that the baozi are not too close together, otherwise they will stick together. The preparation time remains the same.

Option 3: A little unconventional, but very tasty: Place the Baozi in a greased, coated pan. Then pour in about 1-2 cm of water and steam with the lid on until the baozi have absorbed the water and are lightly crisped on the bottom. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the lid on for another 3 minute

Sprinkle the finished baozi with sesame seeds and spring onions, if desired.