Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Makes 20 baos
For the bao dough
- 500 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour (plain flour), sifted
- 250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm water (or half water, half soy milk)
- 1 Tbsp (10 g) active dry yeast or 25 g (0.9 oz) fresh yeast
- 2 Tbsp sugar (preferably light brown sugar)
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
- 1/2 Tbsp fine salt
For the filling
- pulled confit goose, see the recipe
- pulled beef (assado), see the recipe
- see the suggestions at the bottom of the article
The word “bao” refers to these little Chinese buns that have become a staple of Taiwanese street food and are now quite trendy all over the world! Once you’ve tasted them, you’ll understand why! Here’s a step-by-step recipe with photos for making these delicious buns at home. It’s not hard, it just takes a little time. They’ll be a huge hit as an appetizer, for lunch or as part of a Chinese meal!
Making the bao dough
In a small bowl, mix the yeast with the water and sugar. Let it sit for a few minutes so the sugar dissolves and the mixture gets foamy.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, salt and the yeast-water-sugar mixture. Add the oil. Knead for 5-6 minutes, until you have a soft, elastic dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for about 1½ to 2 hours in a warm spot (I put it in the closed oven) or until the dough has doubled in size.
It will then look like this:
(You can use this time to make your filling)
Divide the dough into 20 balls (about 38 g each), cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Shaping the bao buns
Normally, the dough doesn’t stick at all, so there’s no need to flour your work surface. Roll each ball into an elongated oval (about 8 cm / 3 inches wide by 16 cm / 6 inches long), place a square of parchment paper in the middle (or lightly brush with oil) and fold over to close it like a mouth; I use a chopstick to make a little crease. Cover (so they don’t dry out) and let rise again for about 30 minutes.
Steaming the bao buns
Arrange the baos with plenty of space between them, as they will puff up (I steam them 3 at a time in my bamboo steamer since it isn’t very big, each on a small piece of parchment paper).
Steam in the covered steamer basket (ideally a bamboo one) for 10 to 15 minutes from the moment the water boils (lower the heat to medium). Once cooked (the baos will be nicely puffed), set them on a baking sheet for a few moments before filling.
Filling ideas
You now have delicious bao buns ready to be filled however you like!
Gua bao with pulled confit goose
Click on the picture for the recipe
My favorite fillings:
- with pulled goose or duck (you can use chicken instead)
- and a quick version with breaded chicken cutlets Breaded chicken cutlets - schnitzel or chicken tempura with hot sauce, cucumbers and fresh cilantro.
- with chicken in satay sauce
- with pulled beef, like assado
- in a vegetarian/vegan version with smoked tofu, mushrooms, tempura vegetables… The possibilities are endless, these buns are that good.
With whatever condiments you like: spicy mayonnaise, Sriracha, sweet and sour sauce…
A chopped fresh herb: cilantro, Thai basil, parsley….
A crunchy touch, with crushed peanuts for example.
Eat with your hands!
Tips and variations
- If 20 baos seems like too many, you can of course halve the quantities, but keep in mind that these steamed buns freeze very well, unfilled, after cooking! Just reheat them in the microwave or in the steamer for 3 minutes and fill them for a quick, tasty meal!