Samlip Red Bean Bun

These red bean buns, bought frozen at H Mart, are pretty good! They're a medium-large size, with a generous portion of smooth red bean filling. The filling is standard, but good. Sweetened, but not over the top, and firm enough not to drip when it's hot, but still quite smooth and moist. The dough, however, is the unique component. Texturally, I thought it was pretty good. The dough is a little chewy and bready, but soft. The green color is, of course, fake, but indicates the flavor, which is "artemisia" leaf. Artemisia is the genus of plants including wormwood and tarragon. Ross and I were both puzzled by the flavor, and had to look at the ingredients. His initial guess was that it was spinach, my initial thought was rye. I'm not doing a good job of indicating the flavor with our guesses, but the best general description I could give is savory herbal but pleasant. I have a feeling that it tastes like tarragon, but I don't use tarragon in my own home cooking so I can't judge. (I'm going to have to start using it now!) Anyway, the sort of hearty flavor of the bun dough balanced the sweet red bean paste, and texturally, they were a good match, with the dough remaining springy enough to rip pieces off and retain filling.

Score: 4/5 - These were fascinating. I will definitely want to have them again. Too bad they only come in a three-pack!