Flaky Steamed Buns 破酥包

Flaky Steamed Buns (破酥包) are a steamed bun of Anshun (安顺) whose dough is layered so that the skin flakes apart after steaming. The Guizhou provincial government's food guide calls them a speciality of Jiaozishan (轿子山镇) town, and Anshun has placed their making technique on its municipal intangible cultural heritage list.

How it is made

According to the provincial guide, the dough is rolled out again and again and brushed with oil between rollings, so that after steaming the skin separates into layers that fall away by themselves. The Anshun city government describes the smell over a freshly opened steamer as a mix of dough and lard.

Flavour and texture

Two fillings dominate: a savoury minced-pork filling and a sweet bean-paste filling (洗沙). The provincial guide describes the pork buns as rich with meat juices and the sweet ones as smooth and mild, and the bun as a whole as soft and not greasy. The Anshun city government singles out the filling and the flaky skin as what wins diners over.

How it is eaten

In Anshun's old town, bun shops lift Flaky Steamed Buns out of the steamers in the early morning. The provincial guide notes that long-established shops in the old town make a limited number each day. They also appear among the traditional snacks on Gufu Street (顾府街), one of Anshun's old food streets, where, in the Guizhou government's account, a growing number of visitors head after seeing Huangguoshu Waterfall (黄果树瀑布).