Are you familiar with Chinese bakeries? They're pretty rare outside of Chinatown. Chinese bakeries are awesome because they offer such a wide range of baked goods and pastries and it's also common to find some dim sum stuff there too. There are some old school bakeries that will mostly sell the basics (hot dog buns, roast pork buns, almond cookies, wife cake) while there are some fancy new ones that have included western pastries like eclairs and croissants. Wikipedia has a great list of baked goods that are common in Chinese bakeries while Serious Eats has a nice list that includes pictures. I had a thought last year. With all the people going crazy over cronuts and donuts and babkas and rugelachs and pies and cupcakes....where are all the excitement for Chinese pastries?! Do we need someone like Ansel to make it popular? Does it need to be updated? Re-invented? I have to say that the hot dog bun I had when I was a kid, taste the same as the one I had couple days ago. Maybe it is time to update it.
So here's a thought. What if I get all of you to just make something. I have put together a list of the most common pastries and baked goods I could find and included recipes from the internet to help y'all get started. I wasn't able to include ALL the pastries but you're welcome to make something else. It's up to you if you want to keep it traditional or make it your own. Keep it simple or go crazy. Let's make Chinese pastries popular, yeah?!
February 8th is Lunar New Year so I thought that would be a GREAT day for all of you to post (blog/tumblr/instagram) your results. And please tag your instagram post with #bakewithdonny
Hot Dog Bun
Recipes: i am a food blog, The Woks of Life, Flavours of Asia (Video)
Roast Pork Bun
Recipe: The Woks of Life, Thirsty for Tea, Chubby Hubby, Baking with Mi (Video)
Chicken Pie
Recipes: Ivy Ngeow (Video), 號角月報加拿大 (Video), Day Day Cook (Video), The New Art of Baking
Egg Tart (Cookie Crust)
Recipes: The Woks of Life, Kitchen Tigress and video, China Sichuan Food
Egg Tart (Puff Pastry)
Recipes: Wantanmien (Video), Pop and Wok (Video)
Hot Dog Scallion Bun
Recipes: Fresh From the Oven, Awayofmind Bakery House
Pork Floss Bun
Recipes: Fresh From the Oven, Yin's Homemade
Pork Floss Roll
Recipes: Angie's Recipes, Corner Cafe
Pineapple Bun
Recipes: Lady and Pups and The Woks of Life
Roast Pork Pastry Puff
Recipes: Dim Sum Central, The Tasty Bite Blog
Curry Beef Pastry Puff
Recipes: Use Real Butter, Corner Cafe, Yu Chiang (Video)
Sponge Cake
Recipes: Baking Mum, Nasi Lemak Lover, Siu Kitchen (Video)
Cream Buns
Recipes: The Moonblush Baker, Siu Kitchen (Video)
Wife Cake
Recipes: Siu Kitchen (Video), Guai Shu Shu
Cocktail Buns Recipes: Wantanmien (Video), The Woks of Life
Almond Cookie Recipes: China Sichuan Food, Table for Two, Chao Li Zhang (Video)
Swiss Rolls Recipes: Winse's Wee Wok, Mandy's Baking Journey, Siu Kitchen (Video)