壽桃 Birthday bun with red bean paste filling. This is a long tradition in Chinese culture that the peach-shaped birthday buns will be presented to persons (especially seniors ones) having birthday as blessings of longevity. Why the shape of peach? Ha, in short that’s because in an ancient myth, it take every six thousand years to grow one precious peach of immortality and it will be consumed by immortals for longevity, hence the symbolic meaning.
Red beans are simmered then stir fried with sugar and butter until paste like to make the filling. My favorite part of making these birthday buns is the moment when opening the lid of my bamboo steamer to see all these puffy cute little buns and the good smell coming with the steam.