Vegan Pan-Fried Buns (Sheng Jian Bao, 生煎包)

Step 1

You can watch the video below for a step-by-step on how to make these buns.

Step 2

In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Create a well in the center and then pour in the warm water and oil while mixing. Keep mixing until a dough is formed.

Step 3

Shape the dough into a ball, then place it in a bowl. Cover it with a damp towel and let it rest for at least 2 hours to let the dough rise.

Step 4

Soak dry vermicelli noodles in boiling hot water for 7-8 minutes or until cooked. Drain excess water. Roughly chop the noodles into small ½ inch long pieces.

Step 5

Heat a pan. Add in 1 tbsp neutral oil. When the oil is hot, add in the chives, carrots, and cabbage. Cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes until the carrots are tender. Add in noodles. Pour in the soy sauce, salt, and oil.

Step 6

Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula and cook for another 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Adjust seasoning based on desired taste.

Step 7

Transfer to a strainer to drain excess liquid from the vegetables then set aside to cool while you prepare the wrappers

Step 8

Take the dough out of the bowl then stretch into a large ring. I do this by first punching a hold in the centre of the ball of dough.

Step 9

Slice the dough into 12 or 16 pieces. Each piece will be around 50g if you divide them into Each ball of dough will be around 38g if you divide them into 16 pieces.

Step 10

Roll or shape each piece of dough into a ball.

Step 11

To make a wrapper, press down on the ball of dough and lightly flatten it over the surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top and lightly coat your rolling pin with some flour as well. While holding both ends of the rolling pin, roll out the dough by moving the pin forward and backward. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the movement. Continue to roll out the dough until you have a wrapper that’s around 4 inches in diameter (for 38g wrapper) and around 5 inches (for 50g wrapper). If you can’t make them into a perfectly round shape, that’s okay! Mine weren’t perfect but I was still able to properly fold the pies together. It really takes some time and practice to get a hang of making wrappers.

Step 12

Place the rolled out wrappers on a tray and cover with a dry towel to prevent them from drying out. Roll out the rest of the dough.

Step 13

Take a rolled out piece of wrapper and place around 2-3 tbsp of filling into the center. With one hand, crease the edges of the wrapper while you pinch down the creases with the other hand. You can refer to the video for a better idea.

Step 14

Once you have gone around the edges of the wrapper, pinch and then twist to seal the buns. You can watch the video below for a step-by-step.

Step 15

Place the bun on a flat surface and lightly press down the top.

Step 16

Afterwards, place back the bun on the tray and cover with a towel to prevent it from drying out.

Step 17

Repeat for the rest of the wrappers.

Step 18

Heat a pan with a lid, add in 1 tbsp of oil (for every 4 buns). When hot, add in the buns (creased-side first) and lightly press down. Leave to cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until it has a golden brown crust. Flip over and leave to cook until golden brown.*

Step 19

Note: the number of buns per batch will depend on the size of your pan!

Step 20

Prepare the lid of your pan. Using the lid as protection, carefully pour 4 tbsp of water (1 tbsp for each bun) into the pan and then immediately cover to prevent it from splashing due to the heat.

Step 21

Leave to cook in the steam, until the water has evaporated, around 5-6 minutes. Take out the buns and repeat this step for the remaining ones.

Step 22

Enjoy while hot! You can enjoy these with a dipping sauce if you’d like! I usually just like to mix together some soy sauce, sugar, chili sauce, and some sesame seeds.

Step 23

Place the cooked buns in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To reheat, you can pan fry them again with a splash of water or oven-toast in low heat. You can also microwave the buns in a bowl with a splash of water.

Step 24

You can freeze the cooked buns too and just reheat in the pan, oven toaster, or steam them before enjoying! No need to thaw.

Step 25

To freeze, simply place the buns on a tray. Make sure they're spaced apart so they do not stick to one another. Leave the tray of buns to freeze for 5 to 6 hours or until hard. This way they won't stick to each other when stored later on. Afterwards, you can transfer the buns to a plastic or silicon bag and just reheat a piece at a time when you'd like.