Ken - I love soup and your wife's sounds very interesting
here is the recipe for the pork buns
It looks like a lot of work but it really isn't if you have all the ingredients in front of you when you begin
Bows (Pork Filled Buns)
Dough
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 ¼ cups of unsifted, all purpose flour
Melted butter or margarine
Pork Filling
1 medium onion chopped, reserved
1 ½ pounds boneless lean pork cut into ½ inch cubes. Season with:
2 cloves garlic, minced, ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and mix together.
In a bowl combine and reserve 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dry sherry and ¼ cup water.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or wide frying pan over high heat. When the oil is hot , add pork and stir fry until browned (about 5 minutes). Add chopped onion and continue cooking until onion is limp (about 2 minutes more) Stir cornstarch mixture, add to pork and cook stirring, until sauce bubbles and thickens. Set aside to cool.
Dough
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water, blend in sugar, oil, and salt. Let stand in a warm place until bubbly (about 15 minutes). Add 3 ¼ cups of flour and mix until dough holds together. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour and 15 minutes)
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Shape into a rectangle. With a floured knife, cut rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise 6 times to make 12 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a round about 4 ½ inches in diameter. Press outside edges of dough to make them slightly thinner than the rest of the round. Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in center of each round. Pull edges of dough up around filling and twist to seal.
Place buns about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet, cover with a clean cloth and let rise until puffy and light, about 30 minutes. Brush with melted butter and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until golden brown.
I used ground ginger and minced garlic from a jar.
For an experiment, I will use packaged bread dough to make a few next time.
that's the pork after cooking
these are the buns right before cooking
the inside of the bun
right out of the oven
