crispy bottom buns

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😃👍🏽

Crispy bottom Shanghai pan-fried pork buns are crunchy on the bottom and fluffy and airy inside with a juicy and flavourful pork and spring onions filling.

Crispy Bottom Shanghai Pan-Fried Pork Buns

ground pork

spring onions, finely chopped

ginger,

Shaoxing cooking wine

sugar

black pepper (optional)

g all-purpose flour (2 cups)

instant yeast (1 teaspoon)

sugar (1 teaspoon)

baking powder (1 teaspoon)

water (150 ml)

black sesame seeds (for garnish)

spring onions, finely chopped (for garnish)

In a large mixing bowl, add in all the filing ingredients (ground pork, spring onions, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine, sugar, white pepper, and black pepper (optional). Use a spatula to mix well and evenly, blending the ingredients together to allow the flavours to infuse into the ground meat. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour until the dough is ready for assembling.

Prepare the Filling:

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, salt and water. Mix well to combine with a spatula, until the mixture forms into a dough. Make sure to scrape off any remaining dry flour on the sides of the bowl.

Knead the dough with your hands (or stand mixer) until the dough becomes smooth and soft, about 10 minutes. This is a 60% hydration dough (water to flour ratio) and it should be fairly easy to handle.

Form the dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a chopping board or cling wrap. Let the dough sit at room temperature for one hour, or until it rises and doubles in size.

Once risen, knead the dough for a few minutes to get rid of any air bubbles.

Transfer dough onto a floured surface and roll into a log. Divide the log into 15 even pieces and roll into balls by cupping them into your palm and making circular motions. Flatten and roll each dough ball out into a 3-inch circle with a small rolling pin. Note that the centre should be slightly thicker than the edges.

Prepare the Bun Dough:

Add a tablespoon filling into the centre of the rolled out dough.

Bring the edges of the dough up, enclosing the filling inside.

Seal the filling inside by pleating the edges together with your finger.

Turn the buns over with the pleated side down (the top side should be smooth) and place on a parchment-lined tray or plate. Cover with a tea towel and let them rest for another 20 minutes to allow the dough to rise a bit more (not double in size).

Assemble and Fold the Buns:

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Place buns with the pleated side facing down. Make sure to place buns approximately 1/2 inch apart to prevent them from sticking together. (You may have to cook in 2 batches if your skillet is not large enough). Cook for 2 minutes until the bottom turns golden brown and crispy.

Add 1 cup of cold water into the pan. The water should start sizzling and bubbling immediately. Make sure the water is about 1/2-inch deep and covers about half of the buns’ height. Cover with the lid and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes until almost all the water is evaporated.

Remove the lid and lower the heat to medium. Cook for another 2 minutes until all water has been absorbed and the bottom is crispy brown. Sprinkle sesame seeds and green onions on top.

Serve hot with a side of vinegar dipping sauce.

Pan-fry the Buns:

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

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