A breakfast item unlike the commonly prepared and savoured items like Danish pastry and pancakes. It's filled with a sweet bean paste filling, steamed and topped with some honey and sesame seeds on top. A sweet and fluffy bun, steamed in a chef’s pan for ease.

A breakfast item unlike the commonly prepared and savoured items like Danish pastry and pancakes. It's filled with a sweet bean paste filling, steamed and topped with some honey and sesame seeds on top. A sweet and fluffy bun, steamed in a chef’s pan for ease.

What are Steamed Koshian Buns?

Koshian Paste, also known as red bean paste, red bean jam, or adzuki bean paste, is a red bean paste used in East Asian cooking. The beans are boiled, then mashed or ground to make the paste. The paste can be sweetened or kept unsweetened. The paste typically has a dark red hue that originates from the bean husk. This filling is stuffed inside a bao, which is a Chinese steamed bun, made with a simple flour dough, steamed till they are soft and fluffy.

How to make Steamed Koshian Buns 

1. In a bowl add the lukewarm water, followed by the active dry yeast. Stir them together and add the refined flour with sugar and baking powder. Combine and knead everything using a silicone spatula. Add a few drops of oil onto the dough and cover it and let it rise for 30-40 minutes.
   
   
2. Take the boiled kidney beans and puree them into a fine paste. Toss it into a non-stick frypan and add caster sugar into it. Add a few drops of sesame oil as well and mix that in. Finally, add some honey and cook it together with the kidney bean paste. 
   
   
3. Divide the proofed dough into 5 even sized pieces. With the help of some flour, roll them out into a 5 inch diameter circle. Add a big dollop of the prepared rajma filling and seal the dough from the bottom. Repeat with the rest. 
   
   
4. Place the filled buns onto a parchment sheet, top them off with some sesame seeds and place them onto a glass or ceramic plate.   
   
   
5. In a nonstick chef's pan, boil some water, place a small bowl into the pan and over the bowl place the plate full of the buns. Cover it and let it steam from the boiling water for 12 minutes. 
   
   
6. Once fully done, pull them out of the pot and drizzle some honey over them while you serve.
   
   

Expert Tips

1. Make sure to knead the dough properly to develop gluten into it.
2. Reduce the rajma mixture enough so that it can be stuffed easily.
3. Do not skip the parchment paper on the bottom of the bun or they will stick.

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