Scallion Sambal Milk Bread

Last weekend, as I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, not motivated to post anything but also not really enjoying the feed, I thought back on when I first started blogging. I remember discovering that the concrete floor in my apartment is a beautiful surface, of taking photos without much thought for styling (like this), of just blogging for the whimsical fun of it, and I almost laughed out loud, giddy with the surge of nostalgia that overtook me. I want to find that again. I want to be a carefree food-lover who just experiments and posts whatever the heck I want, without thinking about being on-brand. Last year I wrote about how I was taking a step back, writing about recipes that revolve around my life vs the other way around, and rediscovering the fun. Looking back, I think I did OK. I had more fun with the blog, penning some recipes that are a part of my everyday life, but because I was saying “no” more and more, and I was letting myself prioritize school and photography over the blog, I ended up just not blogging. I’m going to call 2017 a win, because I won’t punish myself for not blogging, and every post I penned in 2017 was with intention and deliberation. I’m choosing to see it as a stepping stone in my own personal creative journey, a reset of sorts, to continue to rediscover the joy of blogging.

However, with the rise of Instagram and then the algorithm changes that have a lot of us not truly reaching our audience, I found myself longing for the blogging days. I yearned for a deeper connection than a few emoticons, short captions, and rapid scrolling. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel a disconnect with my community. I still like Instagram as an app but mostly for the ability to DM – I have conversations about chinese food, world travel, life updates… Sometimes I feel like my community has shrunk to only the people who actively comment with me, because social media rewards that behavior and perpetuates it. I’ve had this weird mental block – believe it or not I have at least 2 recipes posts and 4 travel posts prepped (er, photo-ready, not writing) for the blog, but I haven’t been able to motivate myself to actually transfer it to wordpress and hit publish. Does anyone else get this?

So, bear with me as I still try to find my voice, my “brand” (ugh), and what my blog space means to me. And enjoy this super aromatic bread scented with sambal, studded with scallions.

The bread is not meant to be spicy – there’s a hint of it throughout the uber soft milk brad, enough to notice a hint of heat but not enough to be overpowering. Divide them up into mini buns (like these furikake buns), or bake them as a loaf as shown here – if there’s one thing years of blogging has taught me, it’s to not be too married to your recipes, and flexibility / experimentation is what makes the world go round anyway :).

What’s new with my life? It’s actually an exciting/crazy time of transition. I just finished 3rd year of medical school, I’m went to China for a brief trip, and then I just started 4th year! To those of you who aren’t familiar, 4th year is when you gear up for residency applications, do sub-internships in the field you’ve chosen (and audition for letters of recommendation), and then actually go through the strenuous interviewing process. It’s going to be a whirlwind but exciting year.

 RECIPE: Scallion Sambal Milk Bread

Tangzhong
25g bread flour
¼  cup milk
¼ cup water

Mix flour with water and milk until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan, and cook over medium low heat until thick, stirring with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. When swirling wooden spoon around pan, you should be able to see visibly the echoes of the swirl. Transfer to a clean bowl. Let cool. Take a piece of plastic wrap and gently press it against the surface of the tangzhong.

Sambal Milk Bread Buns
350g bread flour (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
50 g sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons sambal paste
30g butter, at room temperature
1 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast
tangzhong from above

Filling
one bunch scallions, chopped finely
sesame oil
salt

Egg wash
1 egg
splash of water

sesame seeds

Heat milk slightly until lukewarm. Add in yeast and proof for 5-10 minutes. You should see a thick layer of foam, indicating the yeast is active.

Whisk together yeast milk mixture with egg and tangzhong.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift in bread flour, salt, and sugar. Add in foamy yeast/milk mixture. Add in sambal paste. Mix on medium-high. Add in chunks of butter until smooth. Continue mixing on medium-high for about 15-20 minutes, until elastic, supple, and super smooth. Turn out onto a greased bowl, and cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around 1-2 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is.

Turn onto a working surface.

Dvidie into four pieces. Roll into a long oval. Brush sesame oil and sprinkle in fresh scallions. Fold over lengthwise then roll up. Roll it up, place in loaf pan.

Let rise again until doubled, an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Make egg wash by beating egg with a splash of water. Brush risen loaf with egg wash. Sprinkle sesame seeds liberally over surface of loaf.

Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown. If surface is browning too much or loaf needs more time, cover with aluminum foil and continue to bake.