AI-generated image
Bouchons
Steamed pork dumplings
Bouchon: Réunion's little steamed pork dumplings in thin wrappers, eaten with soy sauce and chilli
MauritianChinese families brought bouchons to Réunion, and today every snack van and camion bar in Saint-Pierre and Saint-Denis sells them by the half-dozen, usually next to samoussas and bonbons piment. They are small open-topped dumplings of seasoned pork mince with garlic, ginger and spring onion in a thin wheat wrapper, steamed until juicy and served in a cardboard tray with soy sauce and a dab of chilli, or stuffed into a baguette as a pain bouchon. The filling should be springy and moist, not dense. People tend to cram the wrappers too full, so the filling cooks unevenly and the parcels burst; a heaped teaspoon is plenty. Chef's tip: use pork mince with some fat in it, around 20 per cent, as very lean pork steams dry and crumbly.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dumplings
- 14 oz pork minceabout 20% fat
- 3 spring onionsfinely chopped
- 3 cloves garlicfinely grated
- ½ oz fresh gingerfinely grated
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 30 wonton wrappersthin, round or square
- 1 tbsp sunflower oilfor the steamer
To serve
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp chilli paste (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 14 oz pork mince, 3 spring onions, 3 cloves garlic, ½ oz fresh ginger, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp cornflour, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper in a bowl. Stir hard in one direction with a fork for 2 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky and pale.
Step 2: Keep 30 wonton wrappers under a damp cloth so they don't dry out. Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre of one wrapper.
Step 3: Gather the wrapper up around the filling with your fingers, pleating it into a little cup with the top open, and press it gently so it stands flat. Repeat with the rest, keeping them covered.
Step 4: Brush a steamer basket with 1 tbsp sunflower oil and set the bouchons in it 2 cm apart. Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil underneath.
Step 5: Steam on a high heat, in batches if needed, until the wrappers are translucent and the filling is firm and reaches 160°F in the centre, with no pink left.
12 minStep 6: Serve hot with small bowls of 4 tbsp light soy sauce and 2 tsp chilli paste.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 27 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bouchons take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of spring onions?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Taiwanese grilled corn
At Raohe and Shilin night markets the grilled-corn stalls are easy to find: look for the queue and the smoky, sweet smell. Cobs are par-cooked, then turned slowly over charcoal while the cook brushes them with a dark glaze of sacha sauce, thick soy paste, garlic and chilli, layer after layer, until the kernels are sticky, slightly charred and deeply savoury. It is eaten hot from a paper sleeve while walking the market. Sacha (shacha) sauce, a Taiwanese barbecue paste, usually contains dried fish and shrimp; vegetarian sacha is sold in Asian shops. Contains soy, wheat and fish. Chef's tip: brush thin coats and turn often; one thick coat burns before the corn chars.
Taiwanese
Masala khakhraCrisp roasted wheat crackers
Khakhra are thin chapaties roasted slowly on a griddle until they turn crisp, like a cracker. This masala version adds gram flour, fresh fenugreek, turmeric and chilli to the wheat dough. They are a light Gujarati breakfast or tea-time snack, and lovely with pickle, chutney or a smear of butter. You can also make them in a roti maker.
Indian
MathiaMoong and urad dal wafers
Mathia are thin, crisp, slightly sweet and peppery wafers made from mathia flour, a mix of ground husked moong and urad dal. They are a classic Gujarati Diwali snack. The dough is pounded until pale, rolled very thin between plastic sheets and fried one at a time. They are fragile, so store them gently. To make mathia flour, finely grind 4 parts husked green gram lentils with 1 part husked black gram lentils.