How to Make Hong Kong Style Pineapple Buns

Pineapple buns (Bo Lo Bao) are a staple pastry that you can find in Hong Kong style bakeries around the world. They don’t actually have pineapple in it but is given the name because of the golden crispy, crumbly crust.

I love making these when I miss home as it reminds me of my childhood. In Hong Kong, you can find them at local restaurants, convenient stores and bakeries and it’s the best on-the-go snack. It is often described as an “intangible cultural heritage.”

Please note this recipe is originally from Lisa Lin. I absolutely love her recipes and you can find her blog here!

Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Tangzhong

  • 20 grams all-purpose flour (2 tablespoons)

  • 75 grams water (1/3 cup)

Dough

  • safflower or any neutral oil for greasing bowl

  • 145 grams whole milk (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)

  • 18 grams granulated sugar (1 1/2 tablespoons)

  • 7 grams active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

  • 490 grams bread flour

  • 3 grams kosher salt (1 teaspoon)

  • 80 grams sweetened condensed milk (4 tablespoons)

  • 1 large egg

  • 55 grams butter(4 tablespoons), melted

Topping

  • 55 grams butter (4 tablespoons), at room temperature

  • 135 grams superfine sugar (2/3 cup)

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • egg yolk

  • 1 tablespoon whole milk

  • 120 grams all-purpose flour

  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Egg Wash

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tablespoon whole milk

Equipment

  • large-sized mixing bowl

  • stand mixer

  • 2 large baking sheets

  • parchment paper

Instructions

Make the Tangzhong

  • Whisk the flour and water inside a saucepan until the flour dissolves. (See note 5 for microwave directions.)

  • Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir the mixture frequently. In about a minute, the flour will start to thicken. Don’t walk away during this process as you can quickly burn the tangzhong! Once the flour develops into a light paste, turn off the heat.

  • Transfer the tangzhong to a bowl to cool. It will thicken as it cools.

Prepare the Dough for Buns

  • Grease a large mixing bowl with oil. Set it aside.

  • In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the milk for about 40 to 45 seconds. Add the sugar to the milk. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the milk. It should be around 110ºF to 120ºF. It’s okay if you are just several degrees off.

  • Add the yeast and stir to hydrate the yeast. Let it sit for 5 to 8 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. After 5 to 8 minutes, the milk/yeast mixture will foam up.

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread flour, salt, condensed milk, egg, melted butter, tangzhong and the foamy milk/yeast mixture.

  • Fit the mixer with the dough hook. Mix the dough on low for 8 minutes (see note 6). If the dough completely spins away from the dough hook after a few minutes, turn off the mixer. Readjust the dough right into the center of the bowl and position the dough hook in the center of the dough. Run the mixer on “stir” for 15 seconds or so before you increase the speed to low.

  • After 10 minutes, scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a surface and knead it several times. The dough shouldn’t be sticky, so you do not need to flour the surface.

  • Shape the dough into a ball and place inside the greased mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic or silicone mat. Let the dough rise in a warm area for about 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, until the dough doubles in size.

Prepare the Dough for Topping

  • Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the flat beater attachment. Cream the butter on medium-low until it is light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the superfine sugar in two batches. The mixture will look very crumbly at this point, and that’s okay.

  • Next, add the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla, and mix on low until just combined.

  • In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and turmeric. Add half of the flour to the bowl with the wet ingredients, and mix on low until the flour is combined. Then, add the remaining flour and mix again. Once all the loose flour has been incorporated, increase the speed to medium-low, and keep mixing until the dough starts to come together into large chunks.

  • Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a surface. Gather it up into one large ball of dough. Transfer this to another bowl and cover it with a towel or silicone mat until the buns are done proofing.

Shape the Buns

  • Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

  • Once doubled, punch down the dough to release excess air. Turn the dough onto a work surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions (450 to 456 grams each). Place 1 portion of dough back into the bowl, cover it, and refrigerate while you shape the first batch of buns.

  • Next, divide the remaining dough into 6 equal pieces (74 to 76 grams each). Take one of the pieces of dough and knead it several times to get rid of any air bubbles. Then, shape this dough into a ball and transfer it to the lined baking sheet, seam side down. The dough should be about 2 inches in diameter. Repeat with the remaining 5 pieces of dough.

  • Cover the balls of dough with a towel and let them rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes, until they increase to 1.5 times its size (about 3 inches in diameter).

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF. If you want more golden looking pineapple buns, preheat the oven to 385ºF. Position an oven rack to the center position.

  • Add the Topping and Bake

  • While the buns are proofing, divide the dough for the topping into 12 pieces (about 27 to 29 grams each). Roll each piece into a ball.

  • Take a plastic storage bag, and cut off the zipper. Continue cutting the bag along the edges so that you have 2 large sheets of plastic. You’ll be rolling the topping in between these plastic sheets.

  • In a small bowl, prepare the egg wash by whisking an egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of milk.

  • After the buns are done proofing, start rolling out the topping.

  • Take a ball of the topping dough and place it on the center of a plastic sheet. Lightly flatten the dough out with the palm of your hand. Then, cover the flattened disc with the other sheet of plastic. Roll out the dough until you get a circle that is 3.5 to 3.75 inches wide.

  • Peel off the top sheet of plastic, turn the topping onto your hand and carefully peel off the other sheet of plastic.

  • Drape the topping over one of the buns. The topping shouldn’t cover the bun completely. The topping can burn if it touches the bottom of the baking sheet. Continue rolling out the topping and draping it over the buns.

  • Brush the tops of the buns with egg wash.

  • Bake the buns for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden.

  • Once the first batch of buns is in the oven, prepare the second batch of buns and bake.

  • Let the buns cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

  • Enjoy the buns while they’re still warm! That’s when they are the tastiest.

pineapple bun recipe

Air Fried Shishito Peppers

Eating is always the constant, no matter where you are and how you feel. We’ve been hearing so much about air frying to make crispy and flavorful dishes without the excess oil your body doesn’t need. So in partnership with Crux Kitchen, we are sharing with you one of our favorite air fried snacks - Shishito Peppers! It’s healthy, it’s delicious and it only takes 10 minutes. Trust me… It’s so easy to finish the entire plate in one sitting.

What you need:

  • 8 ounces shishito peppers (mine are from Trader Joe’s)

  • extra virgin olive oil spray (or any oil spray you’d like to use)

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions:

  1. Spritz the shishito peppers all over with olive oil.

  2. Preheat the air fryer 400F 3 minutes.

  3. Transfer to the air fryer and cook in one batch 400F 8 minutes, shaking the basket halfway until soft and slightly charred and blistered

  4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and squeeze with lemon wedges, serve warm.

———

If you’re interested in an airfryer - here are a few recommended! Researching one can be quite daunting. The prices vary from $50 - $300 USD. Here are a few brands that have good reviews!

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Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!

Grab-n-Go Breakfast | Veggie Sausage Frittata Cupcakes

Mornings are sometimes rough for me, especially those days when you wake up late and don't have time to make breakfast! These frittata cupcakes are the best! They're a great grab-n-go healthy breakfast choice. It's easy to make and only takes about 30 minutes. If you don't particularly like any of the veggie/meat choices I selected, feel free to replace them with your favorites!

what you need
1 zucchini
1/2 sweet onion
8 cherry tomatoes
2 chicken apple sausages
6-8 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

what to do

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Cover the muffin pan with olive oil. You can also use cupcake liners to save yourself from cleaning the pan. 

2. Dice the veggies and the sausage into cubes. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together.

3. In a 10-inch skillet, sauté the onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and sausage for about 7-10 minutes until it's soft. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Fill each cup of the pan with a tablespoon full of veggies and sausage. Then pour in the whisked egg till they're almost full.

5. Place into oven for 15-20 minutes till the egg is set. Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!

- C

Plated

After talking about Plated as one of the vday specials in this previous post, I decided to give it a try myself.  So I ordered three different plates and chose to cook Mushroom Parpadelle, Chicken Sausage Gumbo, and Beef Randang. Unfortunately, my Beef Randang turned out unappealing in the photos so I decided not to share those. :)
I found the entire process super convenient and good for dinner dates! This is also great for those who want to try cooking but don't want to fill up their pantries with spices that they're only going to use once. Here's how to order - go to their website, choose the date you'd like them to be delivered, choose your plates from their 5-7 item of choices, and you're done! You can customize how often you want them to deliver, and how many plates you'd like. My favorite? The Chicken Sausage Gumbo. If you're a first time user, don't forget to use the Facebook deal (buy 2 plates get 4 free)!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin w/ Coconut Flour

I've been trying to be more healthy with my food choices lately, but with the holidays and all, it's really hard not to eat homemade desserts, pasta and mashed potatoes... Here's a gluten & wheat free recipe I found that I really like! It's very easy and quick, and they make great breakfast to go muffins!

prep time: 10 minutes
bake time: 25 minutes
serves: about 10

what you need

2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut oil (or ghee), melted
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips - optional



how to make them
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and a muffin tin with cupcake paper liners
2. In a large bowl, add the bananas and mash them up using a hand mixer. 
3. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, coconut oil, maple syrup and mix together (about 1 minute).
4. Add coconut flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon to the mixer and mix until smooth.
5. Add the chocolate chips and fold in the chocolate chips lightly with a spatula.
6. Scoop the batter into the muffin tin about 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
8. Enjoy!