vegan bao

Filled with glazed sticky tofu, crisp veg and crunchy peanuts, these soft and fluffy vegan bao buns are comforting, hearty and fresh all at the same time. 

Vegan Bao Buns 

Buns:

flour

instant yeast

tbsp sugar

tsp baking powder

tsp salt

water

tbsp oil

Filling:

spring onions, thinly sliced

garlic,

ginger,

hoisin sauce

tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)

tbsp rice vinegar

tbsp + 1 tsp sesame oil

firm tofu, sliced

red cabbage, thinly sliced

½ lime, juiced

cucumber,

toasted peanuts, ground or chopped

fresh coriander

Start by making the dough. Combine flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and stir to incorporate. Add 160ml water and 2 tbsp oil, and use your hands to bring the dough together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is soft, smooth and bouncy. Add an extra tbsp of water if the dough feels stiff or dry. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size - around 1.5-2 hours. 

After an hour of rising, start preparing the filling. Combine the spring onions, garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and 1 tbsp sesame oil in a bowl. Add the tofu and stir it gently to coat it in the marinade. Let sit for 20 minutes.

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat, and add the tofu along with 2 tbsp of the marinade (reserving 1 tbsp of it). Let cook, untouched for 6-7 minutes, until crisp on the heat-facing side. Flip the tofu and continue to cook for another 5-6 minutes until crispy on both sides. Remove from heat and brush lightly with the reserved marinade. 

Next, prepare the veg by tossing the red cabbage in lime juice and 1 tsp of sesame oil. Set aside with your sliced cucumber until plating. 

When the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and press the air out of it. Split the dough into 2 pieces, and roll it into equal sized logs. Split them in half, then cut those in half - creating 8 pieces. Working one at a time, flatten each piece and roll it out to be an oval that’s around 1cm thick, brush with sesame oil and fold. 

Cut a piece of parchment paper into 8 pieces, and place each bao on a piece of parchment. Cover with a damp tea towel, and let rest for 30 more minutes - until puffed. 

To cook the bao, set a steamer (either bamboo or regular) over a pan of gently simmering water. Steam two bao at a time - with their individual sheets of parchment and with 2cm of distance between them - for 8 minutes. 

Let cool for a few minutes, then fill the bao with red cabbage, thinly sliced cucumber and 2 slices of tofu. Top it with spring onion tops, crushed peanuts and coriander. 

These completely vegan char siu “pork” bao buns are the meatiest, stickiest, freshest little bao buns you’ve ever tried. Say “goodbye” to bao FOMO and “hello” to char siu!

Vegan Char Siu "Pork" Bao

235 ml plant milk ((warmed

tbsp caster sugar

60 ml vegetable oil

Hoi Sin Sauce

soy sauce

tbsp shaoxing wine

tbsp brown rice syrup/fruit syrup/maple syrup

brown sugar

garlic

tsp chinese five spice

110 g dehydrated soy

a cucumber ((thinly sliced))

carrot

coriander

tsp white sesame seeds

Pour the warm milk into a small bowl along with 2 tbsp of the sugar - stir together until dissolved. Sprinkle over the yeast. Whisk lightly and leave to go slightly foamy.

Place the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Knead for a minute or until you have a very sticky messy dough. Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl - leave for 10 minutes for the dough to hydrate fully. After 10 minutes return the hook to the stand mixer and knead for around 5 minutes or until you have a smooth ball of dough.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a cold oven. Pour around 100ml boiling water into a baking tray and place at the bottom of the oven - beneath the dough. Leave until doubled in size (around 1-2 hours). While the dough is proving, prepare the Char Siu.

Once the bao dough is proved, remove the dough from the oven and push out any large air bubbles with your finger tips. Lightly flour a work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Divide the dough in half with a sharp knife then divide each half into 6. Form each piece of dough into a small ball and place on a baking tray. Cover with cling film and leave to relax for 10 minutes. While relaxing, cut out 24 squares of greaseproof paper around 3 inches in size.

Once the dough is relaxed, remove one ball from the tray and place on the floured surface, covering the rest of the balls back up. Dust the top of the ball lightly with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll out into a long oval. Place a greaseproof square on the bottom half of the oval and carefully fold over the top half. Carefully, transfer the folded bao bun onto another greaseproof square and place on a baking tray. Cover while you repeat the process with the remaining 11 balls of dough. Once all dough is prepared, turn on your steamer or place a bamboo steamer over a pan of boiling water.

Keeping the bao buns on their squares of greaseproof, place them in the steamer - allow room for the bao to expand when they cook (It’s unlikely that your steamer will fit all the buns in one go, so you’ll have to do them in batches - keep the excess buns in the fridge while the others are steaming).

To Make the Bao Buns

Place all the ingredients for the Char Siu into a medium saucepan and place over a medium heat. Bring to the boil then turn off the heat immediately. Add your dehydrated soy slices, cover, and leave to rehydrate for at least 20 minutes. Once rehydrated, use a slotted spoon to remove the soy slices from the marinade and place them on a baking tray. Place the marinade back on the stove and cook over a medium heat, siring frequently, for around 5-7 minutes or until you have a nice, thick, glossy glaze. Remove from the heat and set aside.

To Make the Char Siu

Fire up the grill/broiler to full temperature. Using a pastry brush, brush some glaze over the slices of “pork”. Place the “pork” under the grill/broiler for around 3 minutes on each side, brushing with glaze as you flip. Remove from the grill.

Once all the buns are steamed it’s time to fill them. Add a few slices of the char siu, some finely sliced carrots, around 3 slices of cucumber and a good few leaves of coriander. If you have any excess marinade, brush or drizzle some onto the char siu. Serve and enjoy!

To Finish off the Dish

These Chinese-inspired tofu steamed buns have it all. A fluffy pillowy soft dough, finely chopped tofu filling, and a mouth watering sweet and savory soy based sauce. They’re so delicious and actually quite simple to make! 

Tofu Steamed Buns

All Purpose Flour

Packet of Instant Yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

Salt

Water

block Extra Firm Tofu

Red Onion (minced)

Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

White

tsp Sesame Oil

tsp Chili Garlic Sauce

Organic Sugar

tsp Chinese Five Spice (optional)

Make the dough:Add the flour, instant yeast packet, and salt in to a large bowl or food processor. Pulse or mix a few times until combined. 

Heat the water on low or microwave for a minute or so until the water reaches the appropriate temperature. It should be approximately 120-130 degrees. 

Add the water and the oil to the dry mixture and stir a few times until combined. The dough will be  soft and slightly sticky. 

Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough for 7-10 minutes. 

Return the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rise for 1 hour. 

Make the filling: Drain the package of tofu and lightly squeeze out some of the water. Mince the red onion and chop the tofu in to very small cubes. I like to do tiny squares and some crumbled.

Add 1 tbsp of oil to a pan heated on medium-high. Add the tofu and red onion and cook until the tofu is lightly browned and the onion is soft. 

Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl then add to the pan. Let the sauce simmer until the tofu has absorbed all of it. About 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside to cool. 

Fill the buns: Punch the dough right in the middle to release air. Dump the dough out on to a clean surface and knead a few more times about 30 seconds and roll in to a log. 

Cut the dough in to 12 even pieces. Roll each piece in to a ball. Cover with a towel and let rest on the table for 10 minutes. Use a rolling pin and roll each ball of dough in to a flat circle between 1/4in to 1/2in thick.

Fill each bun with a heaping 2 tablespoons of the tofu filling and close the bun however you choose to. I simply sealed mine and rolled into balls. Place the filled buns on a baking tray. 

Cover and rest for 30 more minutes. 

Steam the buns: Use a steamer basket of choice: I used a bamboo steamer. Add water to the wok or pan and bring to a boil. Place the steamed buns in to the steamer basket with room in-between them- place lid on the steamer basket and then on to the water and reduce to a simmer. Steam for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat but let sit with the lid on for 5 minutes (don&#39;t open it!) 

These are awesome! Fun to make and so fluffy, and the filling is delicious! Awesome recipe!

Absolutely delicious in every way possible. Little pillows of heaven. Yummy !!!  I could eat these every day they are that good !!!

These turned out so good! The tofu filling was sweet and spicy but just the right amount. They were also very simple to make. Thank you Liv!

Top 3 vegan bao recipes from across the web

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

Top Tags

Vegan Bao Buns

Vegan Char Siu "Pork" Bao

Tofu Steamed Buns

Top 3 vegan bao recipes from across the web

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

Top Tags

Vegan Bao Buns

Vegan Char Siu "Pork" Bao

Tofu Steamed Buns

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