Family Meal Plan: Mostly Mushroom Chinese Bao Buns+Hoisin Dipping Sauce+Cantaloupe-Ginger Spritzer(Optional)

Mostly Mushroom Chinese Bao Buns with Happy Hoisin Dipping Sauce

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• blend :

  to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.

• chop :

  to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

• combine :

  to merge two or more ingredients into one mixture, like a batter of flour, eggs, and milk.

• grate :

  to reduce food, like a carrot, to very small shreds or pieces of the same size by rubbing it on a tool with an outside surface that has holes with cutting edges (a grater).

• knead :

  to work dough by pushing, pulling, and folding it by hand or with a stand mixer.

• sauté :

  to cook or brown food in a pan containing a small quantity of butter, oil, or other fat.

• separate eggs :

  to remove the egg yolk from the egg white by cracking an egg in the middle and using the shell halves, the palm of the hand, or a device to keep the egg yolk in place while the egg white falls into a separate bowl.

• simmer :

  to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.

• slice :

  to cut into thin pieces using a sawing motion with your knife.

• squeeze :

  to firmly press or twist a food with fingers, hands, or a device to remove its liquid, like shredded potatoes, frozen and thawed spinach, or tofu.

• steam :

  to cook food by heating it in the steam from boiling water.

• strain :

  to separate liquids from solid foods or remove bigger food particles from smaller particles using a perforated or porous device like a strainer, sieve, colander, or cheesecloth.

History of "Baozi" (Bao Buns)!

• "Baozi" (BOW-te) or Bao (Bow) are steamed filled buns from China. They were eaten in China long before the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279), but were known as "mantou," along with the unfilled version. Sometime during the Song Dynasty, the filled buns began to be called "baozi," while "mantou" remained the name for the unfilled buns.
• There are variations of bao buns, depending on the region. In the Sichuan province, "yacaibao" are thick and fluffy and may be made with wheat flour and filled with spiced beef, pork, pickled mustard stem, and vegetables. 
• In Hong Kong, "char siu bao" are thinner and made with rice flour, with a sweet barbecue pork filling.
• "Xiaolongbao," or soup dumplings, are popular in Shanghai. They are traditionally eaten for breakfast. These thin, partially-leavened buns are filled with meat and an aspic (a jelly made with meat stock) that becomes liquid when steamed. They are served in the bamboo basket in which they are steamed. Then, diners pierce the buns, releasing the broth, which they drink before eating the bun.

Let's Learn About China!

• China's official name is The People's Republic of China. It became a republic in 1912; however, the first Chinese dynasty appeared around 2100 BCE. China is one of the largest countries in the world, and it has the most people!
• The official language of China is Mandarin. However, various dialects are spoken in different regions of the country. For example, in Shanghai, they speak Shanghainese.
• China is around the same size as the continental United States but only has one official time zone. The continental US has four.  
• China's capital city is Beijing, while the most populated city is Shanghai.  
• The Great Wall in China is the largest man-made construction on Earth, stretching an incredible 5,500 miles. Its builders used mortar that included sticky rice to bind the Great Wall's stones! 
• China's land is diverse, with high mountains, low coastal lands, deserts, and damp tropical areas. Just like the United States!
• The Chinese are known for their papermaking, porcelain, and silk cloth. In addition to paper, they also invented the compass during the Han dynasty (202 BCE to 220 CE), woodblock printing in the Tang dynasty (by 7th century), gunpowder in the Tang dynasty (9th century), and movable type made of porcelain (for printing) between 1039 and 1048 CE, during the Song dynasty.
• Chinese cuisine varies by region. Climate, local agriculture, ethnic and class backgrounds, and outside influences all contribute to China's food diversity. There are eight major regional Chinese cuisines: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang.
• Wheat is farmed in northern China, so noodles and other foods made from wheat are consumed more in the North. On the other hand, rice is cultivated in southern China; therefore, rice is a staple in the South.  
• Tea has long been part of Chinese culture across all parts of society. China was the first country to grow and drink tea and, today, it exports the most green tea worldwide.

What's It Like to Be a Kid in China?

• School success is greatly emphasized in China. Chinese kids go to school five days a week (six days before 1995), and their school day runs from 7:30 or 8 am until 4 or 5 pm. After school, they might do homework for three hours.
• In primary school, kids learn the Chinese language, which is made up of about 7,000 characters, not letters. The characters represent words. By the time they finish primary school, they will have learned about 4,000 characters. They will also learn a foreign language, especially English.
• Kids may not have aunts, uncles, or cousins because, at one time, the Chinese government allowed couples to have just one child due to the high population. That later changed to two, and in May 2021, the policy changed again to allow three kids, so now a child may have a sibling or two. 
• Some of the holidays that kids celebrate with their families are Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, and National Day. National Day is celebrated with fireworks and parades to commemorate the formal proclamation of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. 
• Kids enjoy playing ping pong, basketball, volleyball, and badminton. They also play video games and ride their bikes. 
• Rice and noodles are staples, and kids may eat these at every meal. They'll eat their food using chopsticks, not forks!