chinese buns

Fill these steamed Chinese bread rolls with BBQ pork and pickled vegetables for a perfect Chinese New Year party nibble

Steamed Bao Buns

plain flour,plus extra for dusting

1½ tbsp caster sugar,plus a pinch

tsp fast-action dried yeast

milk

oil,

tbsp rice vinegar

tsp baking powder

Steamed bao buns

Mix together the flour, caster sugar and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl (see tip). Dissolve the yeast and a pinch of sugar in 1 tbsp warm water, then add it to the flour with the milk, sunflower oil, rice vinegar and 200ml water. Mix into a dough, adding a little extra water if needed.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10-15 mins, or until smooth. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 2 hrs, or until doubled in size.

Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and punch it down. Flatten the dough with your hands, then sprinkle over the baking powder and knead for 5 mins.

Roll out the dough into a long sausage shape, about 3cm thick, then cut into pieces that are about 3cm wide – you should have 18. In the palm of your hand, roll each piece of dough into a ball and leave to rest for 2-3 mins.

Use a rolling pin to roll out each ball, one by one, into an oval shape about 3-4mm thick. Rub the surface of the dough ovals with oil and brush a little oil over a chopstick. Place the oiled chopstick in the centre of each oval. Fold the dough over the chopstick, then slowly pull out the chopstick.

Cut 18 squares of baking parchment and put a bun on each. Transfer to a baking tray, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hr 30 mins, or until doubled in size.

Heat a large steamer over a medium-high heat. Steam the buns for 8 mins until puffed up (you’ll need to do this in batches). Prise open each bun and fill with our <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/char-siu-bbq-pork">barbecue pork</a> and <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pickled-carrot-mooli">pickled carrot &amp; mooli</a>. Eat while they’re still warm.

Crispy bottom pan-fried fried vegetable buns (no yeast) are crunchy on the outside yet tender and chewy on the inside with a savoury mushroom, carrot and vermicelli vegetarian filling.

Crispy Bottom Pan-Fried Vegetable Buns (No Yeast)

all-purpose flour (approximately 2 + 1/3 cups)

salt (1 teaspoon)

hot boiling water (2/3 cup)

black or white sesame seeds

rice vermicelli

vegetable oil

brown mushrooms, finely chopped

carrots, grated

green onions, finely chopped

garlic, minced

soy sauce

sesame oil

white pepper

vegetable stock powder (optional)

salt

cornstarch (if needed)

tablespoon vegetable oil

water

black vinegar

In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt to combine. Slowly add in boiling water and stir well with a silicone spatula to combine, until there are no dry flour particles visible in the bowl. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Cover and let the mixture rest for 10 minutes. (Adding hot boiling water in flour is a technique known as flour scalding, which breaks down starch in the flour and makes the dough softer and more stretchy. It also makes the dough much easier to knead.)

Make the Dough:

Transfer the dough onto a clean and lightly greased surface. The oil will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands initially. You can even lightly oil your hands too.

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and not sticky at all.

To knead, push the dough down and outward using the palms of your hands. Fold the dough in half toward you and press down. Repeat this motion by pushing the dough down and outward, and then folding over towards you. This helps build up gluten strength in dough that is responsible for making the bread fluffy.

It should take less than 10 minutes of kneading by hand to achieve a non-sticky and smooth dough ball. A well-kneaded dough is smooth and can hold its shape. You can test the dough by giving it a firm poke with your finger. The indentation should bounce right back. If it doesn’t bounce back and stays like a dimple, keep kneading for a few more minutes.

Transfer the smooth dough back in the mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let rest for 20 minutes, while you are prepping the filling.

Knead the Dough:

Soak the vermicelli in hot water for 1 minute, or in colder water for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Drain and finely chop (about 1/4 or 1/2-inch pieces).

In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes until the oil is hot and starts to sizzle.

Add in all the filling ingredients: vermicelli, mushrooms, carrots, green onions, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, vegetable stock powder (optional), and salt. Stir well with a wooden spatula to mix evenly, about 2 minutes. If you find the vegetable mixture is a bit watery, add a teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken it a bit. Transfer the mixture onto a plate and let it cool down to room temperature, about 15-20 minutes

Make the Filling:

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a log and divide it into 10 equal pieces using a bench scraper or knife. Take one piece of dough at a time and flatten it with a small dough roller or with your palm.

Shape the dough into a 4-inch circle. Note that the centre should be slightly thicker than the edges. This dough should be particularly softer and more pliable because of the hot water scalding flour technique.

Place 1 tablespoon of filling into the middle of each rolled out dough. Bring the edges of the dough up, enclosing the filling, and pleat the edges together into a little bag to seal the mixture inside.

Add sesame seeds into a shallow dish. Dab the smooth side of the bun with a little bit of water and gently press it into the shallow dish of sesame seeds. The water will help the seeds stick to the bun.

Place the bun on a baking tray and cover with a tea towel to prevent it from drying out.

Assemble the Buns:

In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Place a batch of 5 buns with the sesame seeds side facing up and placed 1/2-inch apart to prevent them from sticking together. Cook for 1 minute until the bottom turns golden brown.

Turn the buns over and add 1/2 cup of water into the pan. The water should start sizzling and boiling immediately. Make sure the water is about 1/2-inch deep and covers about one-third of the buns’ height.

Cover with a lid and cook covered for 5-6 minutes until almost all the water has evaporated. Because the vegetable fillings are previously cooked, it takes approximately only 5 minutes to fully cook the buns.

Take off the lid and lower heat to medium. Cook for another 1 minute until all the water has been absorbed and the sesame seeds side has turned golden brown and crispy as well.

Transfer the buns onto a plate and repeat the same method with the second batch.

Serve them hot with a side of vinegar dipping sauce.

Pan Fry the Buns:

In a small bowl, combine black vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions. Stir with a spoon.

Serve alongside the crispy bottom vegetable buns, for dipping.

Make the Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

I really enjoyed making this recipe!  The buns came out great!  I did tofu, carrot, green beans, and onion in mine.  Next time I might play around with adding some meat.  The dough felt really dry while I was shaping the buns, but it didn't tear and had a really nice consistency once it was cooked.  Thanks for the great recipe.  I will definitely be making it again. :)

These buns were delicious! I filled mine with mushroom, carrot, and green onion. The dough was really tough and probably took 30 minutes to get it to the right consistency. Aside from that, it was a very yummy meal!

These were great. Make sure  to thicken it or the dough wont close and water drips out. I used bok choy, mushroom, mook yee and gr. Onion. It tasted good but made the bok choy made it to watery. I will definitely try again but with tofu.

I made mine but at the end the food was kind of gooey idk if it was correct and if it was supposed to taste that way pls help apart from that I really liked it😃👍🏽

This recipe is for making steamed, folded bao buns which are the simplest type to make at home. It introduces a single-proof method that consistently produces good results.

Bao Buns, A Foolproof Recipe

g all-purpose flour (see note 1 for substitutes)

1¼ tsp instant yeast (see note 2 for substitutes)

tsp white sugar

Oil (for brushing)

Manual Method: In a large bowl, mix flour, instant yeast, baking powder and sugar (see note 2 if using dry active yeast or fresh yeast). Gradually add water/milk while stirring with chopsticks. Combine and knead by hand until a rough-looking dough forms. Rest for 10 minutes then knead for 2-3 minutes until it becomes very smooth.

Stand-mixer Method: Add flour, instant yeast, baking powder, sugar and water/milk to the mixing bowl (see note 2 if using dry active yeast or fresh yeast). Mix and knead with a dough hook on low speed for 8-10 minutes until a smooth dough forms.

Prepare the dough

Rolling pin method: Roll the dough into a rope. Divide into 8-12 equal pieces. Roll them into balls then flatten each with a rolling pin into an oval shape, about ⅕ inch (½ cm) thick (dust with flour when necessary to prevent sticking). Brush a thin layer of oil over half of the oval then fold over lengthways.

Cutter method: Flatten the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle, about ⅕ inch (½ cm) thick. Use a large round cutter to cut out circles, then roll each piece into an oval shape. Combine the leftover dough and repeat to cut out more (dust with flour when necessary to prevent sticking). Brush oil over half of the oval then fold over lengthways.

Shape the bao buns

Line the steamer baskets with perforated parchment paper or silicone steamer liners (or oil the surface if using metal or plastic steamers). Place the bao buns over leaving enough space in between for expansion.

Leave to proof for about 30 minutes (see note 4) until the buns become a little bigger, plumper and feel lighter in weight.

Rest

Add 2 cups (500ml) of water to the wok or pot that you use for steaming. Place the baskets on top (you may stack up several and cook all at once). Cover with a lid.

Firstly, cook over high heat. As soon as the water starts to boil (when you see steam coming out through gaps), turn the heat to medium-low. From this moment, steam for 10 minutes.

Steam

Once completely cool, store leftover buns in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 2 months. Reheat by steaming them for 5 minutes if chilled or 7 minutes if frozen.

Store

Cook them as instructed above then freeze them once cooled (It’s not recommended to freeze uncooked bao buns as the yeast dough doesn’t rise properly after freezing).

Defrost them in the fridge overnight then steam for 5 minutes before serving. Or, reheat them without defrosting for 7 minutes.

Make ahead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZK-LVWIXjE

Making Chinese bao buns from scratch with a fool-proof method.
⭐️ Ingredients:
- 300g all-purpose flour
- 1¼ tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 165g lukewarm water or milk
- Oil, for brushing
.
🔎 Full written recipe: https://redhousespice.com/bao/
🎵 Music: Rain by Ikson: https://youtu.be/oImJNxTEYaU
.
0:00 make the dough
0:41 shape the buns
1:18 steam the buns

Steamed Bao Buns | Gua Bao | 刈包

Chinese steamed buns are easy to make with this recipe for hoisin eggplant bao! They&#x27;re a delicious snack with the fluffiest of dough and a mouthwatering savory filling! Make your own hoisin or substitute store bought.

Hoisin Eggplant Bao (Chinese Steamed Buns)

(226 mL) warm water, 115 ºF

tbsp (27 g) sugar

tsp (7 g) instant yeast

tbsp (22 g) vegetable oil

(380 g) all purpose flour

tsp (7 g) baking powder

tsp salt

eggplant

tbsp oil

garlic,

maple syrup

tbsp tahini

tsp sriracha or chili oil (to taste)

tsp doubanjiang or miso

tsp black pepper

Add the sugar and yeast to the warm...

Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water in a large liquid measuring cup or mixing bowl. Stir and let sit for a few minutes to get foamy. Add the oil.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the...

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and mix together with a wooden spoon or by hand (wetting your hand to prevent sticking), until you have a coarse dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand around 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add flour if necessary, though give it a minute before adding as it takes time for the flour to absorb the moisture. You should have a soft and lightly tacky dough (not sticky). Alternatively you can knead in a stand mixer on low speed for 4-5 minutes.

Transfer the dough ball to a lightly oiled...

Transfer the dough ball to a lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 45 minutes - 1 hour until doubled in size.

Trim the ends of the eggplant and cut...

Trim the ends of the eggplant and cut them in half. Brush with oil, then grill over medium-high heat (using grill pan or outdoor grill) until the eggplant is tender when pierced with a fork, about 4-5 minutes each side, but this depends on size of eggplant. When cool enough to handle, cut grilled eggplant into ~3/4" cubes

Heat the oil and garlic in a small...

Heat the oil and garlic in a small pot over low heat. When the garlic turns a pale golden--not too dark or it will taste burnt--carefully add the liquids and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is thickened.

Toss the eggplant in the sauce.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12...

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 (~54 g) balls of dough. Let rest a few minutes before shaping so the gluten has a chance to relax.

Prepare your steaming apparatus and bring water to...

Prepare your steaming apparatus and bring water to a boil. Line the steamer with parchment to prevent sticking and/or cut 12 ~2.5" squares of parchment paper to use with each bun.

Pat or roll out each piece of dough...

Pat or roll out each piece of dough into a ~5" round. Place in your non-dominant hand, and a heaping tablespoon of the eggplant to the center. Take opposing sides of the dough and pinch together over the filling with your thumb and forefinger. Repeat pinching the dough together as you go around the bun until all of the dough meets in the center. Pinch and twist the top to seal it off. Place the bun on a piece of parchment paper and repeat with the remaining dough.

When the water is boiling place the buns...

When the water is boiling place the buns in batches in the steamer basket. Be careful not to overcrowd as they double in size while steaming. In my steamer I can make 4 at a time. Keep the remaining shaped buns in the refrigerator while you steam so that they do not get over proofed.

Steam each batch 12-15 minutes. Best enjoyed warm...

Steam each batch 12-15 minutes. Best enjoyed warm or on the same day. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the fridge and reheat in the microwave until warm. Cover with a damp paper towel while microwaving if they feel dry.

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Top 4 chinese buns recipes from across the web

The most viewed chinese buns recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

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Crispy Bottom Pan-Fried Vegetable B...

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The most viewed chinese buns recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine