Bao buns with hoisin pork
Drygast, 2023-08-21
Delicious bao with tasty pork
- Servings12 Portions
- AllergensMilk, Sesame, Wheat
- Prep Time20 min
- Rest Time30 min
- Cook Time10 min
Bao buns (also known as baozi) are Chinese fast food. A warm and delicious little meal served in a fluffy bread. The toppings vary greatly, but here is a delicious combination with sweet hoisin pork and tangy pickled red onion (the pickled red onion is not included in this recipe though).
I have tried a few different recipes for bao's in the past, but this is probably the simplest and at the same time turns out very well in my opinion. The recipe for bao's comes from https://redhousespice.com/bao/ and there there is also some more information about bao buns that may be interesting to read. I use milk in this recipe, but it is also possible to replace the milk with water.
I make this recipe with a household machine with a dough hook, but of course you can knead it without a machine as well. It will be a fairly compact and elastic dough that requires little processing. You may need a little (approx. 1 teaspoon) of water to make the dough behave properly in the food processor, but if you knead the dough manually, you don't have to worry about it.
To make it easier for me, I use a circular punch that I bought at IKEA. The first time I used 9cm diameter (the pictures for this recipe are the first time I made the recipe - so 9cm) and the second time 11cm diameter. Depending on how thick you roll out the dough and which punch you use, this recipe makes between 8 and 12 baos. For a normal portion with some extra accessories on the side, I think 3 bao's are enough. If you're extra hungry, you can of course think of more...
The times I have served bao's, I usually just throw out a lot of different accessories and let the guests pick a little of what they want. Side dishes can be various vegetables sliced into smaller pieces, grilled or fried halloumi or chicken, pulled pork, fried hoisin mushrooms, small beef patties (to build a kind of hamburger), sriracha mayonnaise and much more. As accessories for this particular recipe, I usually have the following:
- Pickled Red Onions
- Salad of some kind
- Cucumber cut into small sticks
- Sesame seeds (for decoration)
It's great to store leftover bao buns in the freezer. Allow them to cool completely after cooking and then place them in an airtight container which allows them to be stored in the freezer for several months. To heat them up, steam them in the baskets for about 7 minutes if they are taken directly from the freezer or 5 minutes if they have thawed in the fridge.
Ingredients
Nutrition Facts*
| Total | Serving | 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 3345.97 kcal | 278.83 kcal | 313 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 269.28 g | 22.44 g | 25.19 g |
| Fat | 204.18 g | 17.01 g | 19.10 g |
| Protein | 117.27 g | 9.77 g | 10.97 g |
| Sugar | 31.11 g | 2.59 g | 2.91 g |
| Salt | 23.41 g | 1.95 g | 2.19 g |
* The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using the ingredients available in the database. Info will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Directions
- Do you have pickled red onions ready in the fridge? If not, it might be time to make it first as it is a very good side dish for this recipe. :)
- Pour room temperature milk (or water) into a bowl. Add dry yeast and sugar. Leave for approx. 10 minutes.
- Add flour and baking powder. Mix/knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
- Flatten the dough with a rolling pin on a flat surface until it is approx. 0.5 cm thick. If necessary, use a little extra flour here.
- Cut out circles (9-11 cm diameter). Collect leftover dough, roll out again and cut circles until all dough is used.
- Roll each circle into an oval, place on a smaller piece of paper. Lightly brush the top with oil and then fold the dough over itself.
- Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes until each lump of dough has risen a little.
- Add 0.5 liters of water to a pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat so that the water is just barely boiling.
- Place 3-4 lumps of dough in each steamer basket and then place the basket on top of the pot and cover with a lid. You can cook 2 or more baskets at the same time, but test and see what works best.
- Cook the bao in the steam for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the basket from the pot (use oven mitts or similar - hot steam!), fill bao buns with lettuce, sliced cucumber, pickled red onion and hoisin pork.
- Cut the pork into smaller, thin pieces.
- Fry the pork on a baking sheet in the oven (200°C until done, approx. 20 minutes) or in batches in a frying pan until golden.
- Grate the ginger. Peel and press the garlic.
- Heat a frying pan and add the pork.
- Add the other ingredients and let fry for a minute. Stir so that all the ingredients are mixed properly.
- Remove the frying pan from the heat and serve.