In a small bowl, combine the milk and water—microwave or heat on stovetop until just about lukewarm or a touch warmer. Add in the melted butter and sugar and stir to combine until sugar mostly dissolves.

Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the milk mixture, stir to combine, and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy and well-bloomed

Optional: Beat 1 egg and add to the bloomed yeast mixture. I’ve done this recipe with and without this egg addition, and I don’t feel it’s needed at all.

In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with a dough hook), combine the flour and salt.

Make a well in the centre of the flour-salt mix and pour the wet ingredients. Allow the stand-mixer to do the rest, or combine with a spoon until the mixture becomes a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, or until it becomes very soft and smooth. Or, just let the stand-mixer do it for you!

Sprinkle flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. To test if it’s done, press a finger into the dough to see if it bounces back. The stretch-to-thin-window test never worked for me, no matter how long I kneaded. Flour quality variations, I guess.

Very lightly grease the dough ball, cover with a plate, and let rest for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Grease a skillet, heat to smoking, and lightly fry the tofu until the block is browning on all sides. Remove from heat and cut into chunks.

In the same skillet if it’s large enough or a wok, heat a few spoons of sesame oil. Add the red chilli, fry until fragrant, then add the minced garlic-ginger.

Once those are fragrant, add the vegetables in stages, starting with the carrots and beans, and finishing with the bamboo shoots and the fried tofu.

Add in all the seasonings, tossing well to coat and check for taste. The mixture should be a little saltier and spicier than normal, and a little wet—not too dry, but not saucy either.

Note that if you have filling left over from this, you can simply steam some rice and have it with that. It’s a stir-fry in its own right.

Now punch down the dough, turn out onto a floured surface, knead for a minute or two and use a knife or dough cutter to divide the dough—first in half, then each half in half and so on until you have 16 pieces.

On a floured surface, roll each ball out until it’s about the size of an outstretched hand. Holding the rolled piece in your left hand, scoop about 2 tablespoons or ¼ cup of filling out into its centre, and quickly gather the edges in as neat a ruffle as you can make, Try not to touch the filling with your fingers that are sealing the dough, but use a little water to seal if need be.

Invert the filled dough ball on your hand and gently roll between your palms to smoothen and make a nice sphere.

Place the roll on a rimmed 9X16” baking sheet that’s liberally brushed with oil. Repeat for all remaining pieces of dough. Leave a little space between dough balls on the baking tray; they will need to rise again and will expand to fill that space.

Once all the dough balls are rolled and filled, cover the whole tray by placing in a large plastic bag (but don’t let the bag touch the dough—I do anything to avoid using that ghastly plastic wrap) and let rise for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).

Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl. Uncover the rolls and brush with the egg wash—this gives them a nice golden finish, but you can skip this if you prefer to go eggless.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the rolls have browned nicely.

These buns store well, refrigerated for 1-2 days. They’re a great light meal or snack!