Now that summer is here and my son is officially out of school, I’ve been trying to make and freeze as much on-the-go snacks as possible. This week I’m adding steamed pork buns to our freezer because between all the activities, there’s not much time left for cooking during the week. Of course, you’ll find these steamed pork buns in the freezer section of any Asian grocery store, but nothing beats home cooking.
What is bánh bao?
These delicious steamed buns are thought to have originated in China, during the Three Kingdoms era, around the third century. “Bánh” means cake, and “bao” means wrapped up. So the word “bánh bao” literally means “wrapped up cake”. Bánh bao is the Vietnamese version of the Chinese baozi. Just like the Chinese baozi, Vietnamese bánh bao is made from steamed round shaped dough containing either minced pork or chicken with onions, garlic, quail eggs, mushrooms and vegetables. Even though these delicious steamed buns are most common at breakfast, they are also perfect an on-the-go afternoon snack.
Different kinds of steamed buns
There are a variety of different kinds of steamed buns. They can be filled with:
- BBQ flavored char-sui-pork
- Savory gelatin made with meat stock or pork that turns into a broth when cooked
- Sweet bean paste
- Custard filling
- Minced pork, chicken or shrimp and an egg
- Or whatever you have available to you at the time
How to make steamed pork buns?
Using packaged flour
My first attempt at these delicious stuffed pork buns was with using the pre-packaged flour. I’d have to say, I’m impressed at how they turned out. The package came with measured out flour, and yeast. Sugar, oil and milk had to be added.
Making it using cake flour
Although the pre-packaged bao buns flour & yeast are nice, I find it more cost effective to make them from bulk purchases of flour and yeast. I used cake flour instead of all purpose flour to make the steamed pork buns. The reason is because cake flour has less gluten, therefore it gives the steamed buns a more fluffy and airy texture.
I just mixed the yeast, cake flour, oil, milk and sugar, and left the dough to rise until it doubles in size. Approximately 4 hours in our house…it may be less, depending on the temperature in your house. We keep ours at a comfortable temperature of 65oF 🤣. After the dough has risen, I used an ice cream scoop to place the ground pork, shredded carrots, finely chopped onions, shredded mushrooms, oyster sauce mixture onto the dough.
How to close the buns
To close the buns, I simply pulled the sides of the dough up until all the meat is covered. Although if you want to be fancy, you can purchase the steamed buns making mold. But I think my hand-made version is just as gorgeous.
The stuffed buns were left to rise for another hour. Then into the steamer they went for 30 minutes. The end result were delicious stuffed pork buns.
After making the steamed pork buns using two different ways, the pre-packaged and bulk flour, I’d have to say I prefer using the bulk flour and yeast. The bao buns came out more fluffy and not as chewy.
So whether or not you use the pre-packaged flour & yeast or not, the main thing to remember when making steamed pork buns is to have patience and allow the dough to rest and rise. Second, don’t forget to wrap the lid in cloth towel before steaming the buns. This will prevent the steam/sweat from the lid to drip down onto the buns, making them wet and soggy.
What the steamed pork buns taste like?
These hand-held appetizers/snacks are a perfect combinations of fluffy, savory and sweet. When you bite into a steamed pork bun, initially you’ll get the fluffy texture and sweet taste from the buns, followed by the savory ground pork and crunchy texture from the shredded veggies.
Storing steamed pork buns
I store the left over buns in an air tight container in the fridge, and I’m happy to say that they last up to a week. You can also freeze them and reheat in the microwave.
Steamed Pork Buns (Bánh Bao)
Equipment
- 1 Steamer
Ingredients
Ingredients for the steamed buns:
- 400 grams cake flour
- 130 grams sugar add more if you want the dough to be sweeter.
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 2½ tsp yeast
- 250 mL milk warm to 105oF.
Ingredients for the filling:
- 1 pound ground pork you can substitute the pork for ground beef or chicken.
- 1 medium shredded carrot
- ½ chopped white onion
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ¼ cup shredded mushroom soak for 8 minutes to soften then coarsely chop.
Instructions
Instructions for making the steamed buns:
- Combine flour, milk, sugar, oil and yeast into a stand mixer bowl equipped with a dough hook.
- Turn the stand mixer on and let it mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
- At this point, the dough will look "wet". Add 1 tbsp of cake flour at a time to the dough until you can easily pull it away from the sides of the bowl without it sticking to your hands. Form the dough into a ball.
- Spread some vegetable oil into another bowl then place the dough ball into the oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap & place the bowl in a warm place to rest until it doubles in size.
- After the dough doubles in size, divide the dough ball into smaller pieces and set the smaller pieces aside while you prepare the filling.
Instructions for the filling:
- Combine the ground pork, shredded carrots, onions, salt, pepper, chopped garlic, oyster sauce and shredded mushroom in a bowl and mix well. Scoop a small piece of this meat mixture on to a pan, fry then give it a taste & adjust the seasonings accordingly if needed.
Instructions for combining the dough and meat:
- Sprinkle some cake flour on a flat surface and using a rolling pin, roll out the small pieces of dough.
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the ground meat mixture on to the rolled out dough.
- Start pulling the sides of the dough up until all the meat is enclosed in the dough.
- Continue with this process until all the dough has been filled with the ground meat mixture.
- After all the dough has been filled with meat, cover them and set aside to rest for 1 hour.
Instructions for steaming the pork buns:
- Place water in a pot with a steamer basket on top. Be careful to not let the water touch the steamer basket.
- Place the pork buns inside the steamer basket.
- Wrap a kitchen towel around the lid and place the lid on top of the steamer basket. Turn the heat on medium and let the buns steam for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minutes, remove the steamed pork buns to cool on a cooling rack & enjoy.
Don’t be tempted by take-out or frozen steamed pork buns, instead get some cake flour, milk, sugar, oil and yeast and give this recipe a try. For other homemade take-out recipes, check out my Vietnamese egg rolls or spring rolls recipes.
