Steamed Buns

Steamed buns: cloud pockets of steamy goodness, just waiting for you to fill them with tender meats, pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, and ooey-gooey sauces. While the Chinese have been making mantou steamed bread dough forever, America's obsession with the buns can be credited to David Chang. The Momofuku magnate is pretty modest about the whole thing, however; in the cookbook named for his restaurant, Chang puts it this way: They're just our take on a pretty common Asian food formula: steamed bread + tasty meat = good eating. When Nick Gavin set out to make a ChefSteps version of steamed buns, he started with Chang's recipe. Through dozens of trials, he found ways to simplify steps for home cooks, eventually winding up with the recipe here: an assiduously tested path to perfect little Chinese-style taco shells in which to stick your favorite pork belly, smoked chicken, or marinated tofu.

But true to form, Nick didn't stop there. Inspired by the super-simple, airy dough, he conjured up two bonus treats, both designed for dipping into your favorite sauces: think hoisin and hot mustard, chive oil and mayo. Ready to follow in his steamy footsteps? Start by making steamed bun magic, then move on to the bread and rolls. Or skip all that and dream up a brand-new destiny for mantou, sprung directly from your imagination. The sky's the limit, as they say, and that sky is full of fluffy, delicious mantou clouds.