Delicious Homemade Taro Mantou (Chinese Steamed Buns)

Mantou (also called Chinese steamed bun, Chinese name is 馒头 Man Tou) is one of the traditional Chinese noodle dishes steamed with fermented flour. It is made of wheat flour as the primary raw material and is one of the daily staple foods of Chinese people.

The steamed bun originated from the human head sacrifice in the brutal era and is said to have been invented by Zhuge Liang during his conquest of Meng Huo. Its first shape is like the human head. In the Three Kingdoms, steamed buns got their official name “Man Tou”.

Mantou has many types of tastes. Today we would like to use the taro to make the taro Mantou. Cooked taro has a unique aroma. When we put taro in steamed buns, it will be mouthfuls of taro when we eat it. It is better than pure steamed buns nutritious and more flavorful.

If you want to enjoy the mantou recipe with a video, you can watch it below. If you like Chinese snacks, you can try our steamed tofu with the egg recipe.

 

Cooking Difficulty

Difficulty（1-10）	Time（minuts）	taste	Skill
5	1 hour 50 minutes	sweet	steamed

Ingredients

• 300g of taro
• 2g of yeast
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 500g of flour

 

How To Make Taro Mantou

Step 1: Cut Taros

Prepare 300g of taros. Cut the taros into thin slices like this. Put into a plate. Save for later.

Step 2: Cook The Taros

Add some water to the pot.Put the steamer rack in.  After the water boils, put the taro slices on the steamer rack. Steam over high heat until the taro is cooked. When you poke it with a chopstick, it will spread out and it is cooked.

Step 3: Make The Taro Puree

Take out the steamed taro and put it on a plate. Crush the taro into taro puree with a rolling pin. If you like a grainy texture, you don’t need to crush it too much.

Step 4: Seasoning

Add 2g of yeast, 1tablespoon of sugar,1/8 teaspoon of salt, 1tablespoon of oil to the taro puree.  Add 500g of flour. Add about 30ml of water below 35℃.Keep stirring until floc. Be careful not to use too high-temperature water, otherwise, the yeast will lose efficacy.

Step 5: Make The Dough

Put the flour ball on the chopping board and knead it. Knead the taro puree with the flour as much as possible. Knead for about 10 minutes.

Step 6: Make Into Small Mantou

Divide the dough into even small pieces. Roll them into long strips like this. Cut them into small Mantou of the same size. Put the cut small Mantou evenly on the steamer. Cover with the lid. Leaven the Mantou for 1 hour. We can see that Manou has become bigger.

Step 7: Steam The Mantou

Add 2 liters of water to the pot. Put the steamer in the pot. Steam for 20 minutes over high heat. After steaming, turn off the heat. Be careful not to open the lid of the steamer.

Simmer for 3 minutes. We can enjoy the taro mantou now. Hope you can like it!

 

Nutrient Content

Content	Amount Per Serving
Calories	589 kcal
Fat	5g
Sodium	84mg
Potassium	615mg
Carbohydrates	120g
Protein	14g
Vitamin A	57IU
Vitamin C	3mg
Calcium	53mg
Iron	6mg

Suitable People

People	Recommend value（1-10）
High blood sugar	6
High blood pressure	6
high blood fat	6
lose weight	5
child	7

Recommend value：0-3（Try to avoid eating），4-6（Control eating less），7-8（No effect），9-10（Eat more）

 

Cooking Tips

1. Steamed buns are the fluffiest when served hot. You can store the unfinished mantou sealed directly at room temperature without putting them in the refrigerator and consume them within 1 day (you can use a steamer or steam oven to reheat them to make them fluffy).
2. If you want to store it for a long time, let it cool thoroughly and put it in a sealed bag or sealed box, and put it in the refrigerator to freeze (-18℃) for a month. Take it out ahead of time without thawing, just steam it for ten minutes to reheat it.

FAQ

What Is The Difference Between Bao And Mantou?

There are many differences between Bao and Mantou, such as the shape and taste are different. Bao is stuffed and has a pleated appearance, while mantou has no filling and is even less pleating, just a round piece of dough. Both bao and mantou are made by fermentation, and only fermented dough can be made into bao or mantou.

Is Mantou Healthy?

Eating mantou for a long time can provide the body with energy and is also good for gastrointestinal health. But if you eat it every day without any other food, it can be a malnutrition for your body.

Mantou buns are a common staple food, main flour after fermentation, containing a large number of carbohydrates. It can replenish the body’s energy. And steamed buns are easily digested and absorbed and do not irritate the gastrointestinal tract.

Although tasty mantou contains certain nutrients, it may lead to malnutrition if you eat it for the long term without other food. Therefore, usually, also pay attention to dietary diversity, but also appropriate to eat rice, soybean products, lean meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and other foods. It can supplement the body with a variety of different nutrients.

In addition, it is not recommended for diabetic patients to eat steamed mantou for a long time, because the carbohydrates in mantou bread will be converted into sugar after entering the body, which may affect the control of blood sugar.

What Is Mantou Flour?

Mantou flour is a wheat flour mainly used for making mantou, buns, and rolls. The steamed buns made with mantou flour have good taste and flavor, large volume, bright skin, fine internal organization (small and uniform stomata), and good elasticity (no collapse and no stickiness). If you can’t buy this type of flour at the local market, you can use normal wheat flour.

Can I Microwave Mantou?

Mantou can be heated in the microwave oven. If the microwave oven has a “bread/bun” mode, press the corresponding button directly and heat for 1 minute. If the microwave oven does not have a bun mode, select normal heating and set the time to 1 minute. The container for heating buns should be a special microwave container. But it is certainly not the best way. Microwave ovens are heated by the spectrum, and this red heating method will make moisture loss. We still recommend you steam the frozen mantou to eat.

Can I Air Fry Mantou?

We can use an air fryer to steam the mantou. Because the principle of the air fryer is the use of high-speed hot air circulation to take away the moisture in the food so that the food achieves the effect of deep-frying.

But we can air fry steamed buns. It is fried mantou. The secret is mastering the time and temperature. The general temperature control at 150 degrees to 180 degrees or so and the time control is 10 minutes.

You can brush some oil on the mantou. In the process of frying, pay attention to the flip side, so that both sides can be heated evenly. It can help the fried mantou taste better.

If you want the buns to taste better, you can brush the egg wash or sprinkle some seasoning on the surface of the buns. Be aware that if the buns are frozen, you must wait until they are fully thawed before frying, otherwise it will affect the taste of the fried buns.