Pink Baozi

Mix the flour with the salt in a large bowl, warm the beet juice to lukewarm, stir in the sugar and yeast and leave to rise for 5 minutes. Then, while kneading constantly, slowly add the juice to the amount of flour. To ensure that the yeast dough rises well, the mixture must now be kneaded 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 super for preparing the filling. First, roughly pluck apart the planted.pulled with 2 forks, then fry hot with a tablespoon of sesame oil. After about 3 minutes, deglaze with a tablespoon of soy sauce and set aside. Peel the ginger. Chop the carrot, garlic, mushrooms and the ginger as small as possible and then sauté with the remaining oil. Add the soy sauce and continue to sauté until no more liquid comes out. Mix the planted.pulled with the rest of the filling and cool well.

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

Once the dough has doubled, you can take it out of the bowl and knead it well again on a floured surface. It is then cut into about 10-12 equal parts and shaped into balls. The balls are rolled out in a circle, and 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 heaping tablespoons of filling per baozi. Place this in the center of the dough circle, then close each baozi with your index finger and thumb (see photos). Gently pull the dough up, 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. Let the finished baozi rest for another 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 insert (preferably with baking paper underneath so they don't stick) Bring about 5 inches of water to a boil in the steamer or pot and steam the baozi for about 12 minutes. Then keep the lid closed for another 3 minutes, otherwise the baozi will collapse.

Option 2: If you don't have a steamer, it's not a problem. Instead, you can 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 again leave the lid on for 3 more minutes.

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