Pan-fried Cornmeal Cakes

Pan-fried Cornmeal Cakes

　　Pan-fried Cornmeal Cakes

　　They are made by mixing cornmeal, sorghum flour, millet flour, yam flour, or bran flour (both cornmeal and millet flour should first be scalded with boiling water), then pressing the dough onto the hot sides of a cooking pot. As the meal cooks alongside the rice, the side touching the pan turns golden brown and crisps up, resulting in a deliciously crunchy texture.

　　The preparation steps for cornmeal steamed buns are the same as for regular steamed buns: proofing the dough, adding alkaline agent and kneading, shaping, and steaming.

　　1.

　　Proofing the Dough: Add an appropriate amount of yeast and one-third cornmeal to regular flour to make the dough. Mix with water until the dough is no longer sticky, then place it in a bowl, cover, and let it rise. If the room temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, place the bowl near the stove.

　　2. Adding Alkaline Agent and Kneading: When the dough has expanded and shows a honeycomb-like structure with a slightly sour smell, take it out and place it on a kneading board. Add an appropriate amount of edible alkali while kneading. Continue until the sour smell disappears. Tear off a thumbnail-sized piece of dough and bake it near the stove. Once baked, split it open—if there's no yellow tint and no sour smell, the alkali has been properly added, and you can proceed to shaping. If it appears yellow, there’s too much alkali; let it rest and rise again before steaming. If you still detect a sour smell, not enough alkali was added—add a bit more and then shape the dough.

　　3. Shaping:

　　Take the properly treated dough and shape it into a round log according to the size of your steamer basket. Then cut it into square pieces to make square buns. Alternatively, cup your hand over the dough on the board, rotate it gently, and lightly knead to form round buns.

　　4. Steaming:

　　Arrange the shaped buns in the steamer basket in order, leaving some space between them. Once the water in the pot is boiling, place the basket inside to start steaming. Keep the water boiling continuously and ensure the steamer does not leak steam—this will result in soft and tasty buns. Steaming time depends on the size of the buns; generally, they need about one hour to cook. Once done, remove the basket and release the steam. If not eating immediately, take the buns out of the basket to prevent them from sticking to the bottom.