PAN-FRIED PORK STUFFED BUNS or 生(Shēng)煎(Jiān)馒(Mán)头(Tou)

MAIN INGREDIENTS: flour; pork; and onions.

TASTE and TEXTURE: The breading skin is crispy, belying the juicy meat filling. Each bite should offer the meat, sesame oil, and onion flavors.

HISTORY: More than a hundred years ago, the teahouses in Shanghai served only tea and water. Later, patrons began to seek out "tea desserts" as a snack—in lieu of dinner—after hanging out at a teahouse. The pan-fried pork stuffed buns were designed to fill this need, eventually becoming a mainstay "street snack." As the snack grew more popular, the conventional size of a single bun increased steadily, to the point where a present-day bun will be, generally, twice the size of yesteryear’s. The fried buns are filled with generous helpings of meat, and the gravy jelly is also wrapped in these buns and usually take a bit of skill to prepare, obviously, but also to eat! Be patient when frying up a batch of these — the melted gravy jelly inside can leaking during the process, just as can happen when eating these buns (ouch!).