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people as food · pt 1 · ZHU black squid ink bao buns · fried calamari · black garlic aioli __________ RECIPE · PEOPLE AS FOOD · ZHU my favorite dj, ZHU, is a chinese american artist from san francisco. if ZHU were food, i think he would be this dish - black squid ink bao buns, calamari, and black garlic aioli the bao buns represent his chinese heritage, but they’re black for his ominous presence. the calamari to signify the great seafood that comes from the Bay Area, but the contrasting crunch and pepper dust keeps your attention. lastly, black garlic aioli, for its complexity in fermented flavors and acidity. this dish is mysterious, foreign, and dark - it also includes some of ZHU’s colors: black, orange, and tan. i used a scale for this entire recipe, i apologize, but this may also be a sign to invest in a kitchen scale! they’re incredibly useful and i use it whenever i can over measuring cups. __________ BLACK SQUID INK BAO BUNS yields 24 mini baos / 12 baos 45 g - kerrygold butter, unsalted 165 g - whole milk, above room temp 7.5 g - active dry yeast - squid ink 360 g - bread flour 35 g - granulated sugar 5 g - salt 2 g - baking powder 2 g - baking soda steamer basket/contraption stand mixer thermometer nonstick spray parchment paper ring mold, optional .melt your butter until 105F .combine mix milk, butter, yeast, squid ink in a stand mixer bowl, do not go above 115F .let rise for 10-15min, this needs to get ‘foamy’ or your dough won’t rise later .mix/sift dry ingredients (bread flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda) .in your stand mixer, mix on low, then slowly add dry ingredients a spoonful at a time .mix on low for about 10min .once dough has come together, form into a ball, cover, and let proof for an hour/until doubled .roll dough out flat until thick, then you can punch out buns with your ring mold .spritz buns lightly with nonstick spray to prevent the sides from sticking together .fold each bun over into a semicircle, pinching gently where the edges meet .roll buns again, gently, to flatten them slightly and smooth out the surface .proof for another 30min, for extra fluff .prepare steamer basket by placing parchment paper, use the ‘cartouche method’ .steam buns in basket for 5-10min, remove once cooked (it’s hard to ‘oversteam’ buns) .cover with a towel until ready to serve CALAMARI 20 - baby squids (you can use calamari too) 175 g - wondra flour (substitutes - cake flour OR 175g apf 1tsp cornstarch) 175 g - rice flour 10 g - sesame seeds 5 g - gochugaru, fine 6 g - salt neutral frying oil (canola, grapeseed, avocado) .mix wondra, rice, sesame seeds, gochugaru, salt in a bowl .batter squids in batter .fry in oil at 350F until golden brown, they’re tiny enough where they’ll cook thoroughly BLACK GARLIC AIOLI 1 - garlic clove, minced 3 - black garlic cloves 1 - egg yolk 0.5 - juice of a lemon ~0.5 C - neutral oil (i used avocado oil) white vinegar salt ngl, this took a lot of trial & error, in the video i used a mortar pestle, smashed garlic with black garlic until a paste OR (this is what i would recommend moving forward) .in a immersion blender cup/blender, place neutral oil, garlic, and black garlic, and blend until somewhat smooth .strain oil to remove specks of garlic (this is optional) .in a large mixing bowl, place egg yolk and lemon juice, begin whisking and slowly add the black garlic infused oil .keep whisking, i know your arm is gonna hurt, but keep going .making aioli is the most tiring thing on your arm (if you hand whisk) .in a bowl, yolk, salt, lemon juice, whisk .slowly drizzle black garlic infused oil .adding oil thickens, add vinegar if need be .salt to taste GARNISHES 1 - lemon, for garnish 4 - green onions, julienned (green part) dust of gochugaru, fine #bao #baobuns #calamari #garlic #zhu #chinese #black #peopleasfood #asmrfood #korean #foodie #foodasmr #cooking #cookingathome
