Steamed Bao Buns with Cauliflower
I made bao buns couple of years ago. Initially, I thought they might be difficult to make but after making them I found them to be so easy. All my friends loved it too. I was sure they are great on their own for dinner or lunch, but they make great appetizers or party food.
The first time, I made them for friends coming over for dinner. Usually, I like to do theme dinners. So, I made a huge spread of Asian inspired menu and bao buns were also included. I didn’t get intimidated by the recipe even though I was making them for the first time that too for friends coming over without any practice.
They are extremely easy to make but I also found out that you can buy them at frozen section at Asian markets. So you just have to make the filling which hardly takes anytime. If you can get some frozen buns and just want to make the filling, go for it. It will only make your job easier and there will be hardly any wait time. If you wish to make them at home, I am sharing a recipe for bao buns too not just the filling.
Last time when I made them, I had served them with tofu and eggplant. They both tasted great. This time around I had an idea of using cauliflower.
But if you want to try your hands on making them, it’s so much fun.
The buns are made with a yeasted dough the same way we make baked bread. Everything is same process, just the rolling part is different and instead of baking you just steam them. Did I tell you; they can be vegan if you omit milk powder in the bao bun and instead of honey use sugar or agave in the glaze recipe.
These steamed buns are also known as Gua Bao in Chinese. They are light and fluffy often filled with meat typically pork and pickled vegetables. But as you know, I don’t eat meat. So, I got creative with the recipe. I have often tried the ones made with Tofu at restaurants and they taste great.
Unlike other Chinese buns, these are made by folding over rolled dough and steaming them. This creates a pocket which can hold a filling much similar to a taco.
To make these, you will need a steamer either you can do it in a pot/wok or instant pot.
Often, you will see people steaming them in bamboo steamer, but I do not have one. I just used a stainless-steel strainer, or you can even use a dish. I have tried both ways, in pot on stove top and in an instant pot. It’s easier to use multiple methods when you have a lot of them to steam or want to steam at the same time.
Last time when I made them, I used idli stand. Lol. My Indian friends will know, what idli stand is. All you have to do is leave some room in between as they puff up while steaming and you do not want to jeopardize that.
I stuffed them with baked cauliflower, but you can also do a fried version. I just didn’t think I wanted to put a pot of oil and fry anything. I was so happy with the baked version, that I am happy to share the recipe with you. If I didn’t like the baked version, I would have never shared this recipe.
While the dough is proofing the first time, you can literally bake the cauliflower. And, you can make the pickled veggies a day before or if you are not using pickled veggies then just chop them just before serving.
I have used a sauce as glaze for the cauliflower and the same as a sauce to slather the bun for more flavors.
I used pickled onions, red bell pepper, purple cabbage, cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds.
I’ve also tried them with marinated tofu and eggplant and used pickled carrots & daikon, cucumbers along with jalapenos, cilantro, peanuts which was delicious. Get creative!
It sure looks like a bit of a project. And I think it is. But, you can easily break the steps and prepare the sauce and pickled veggies up to a day in advance. You can also make the buns a day ahead, or re-steam them before serving. All you have to do is bake the cauliflower on the day you plan to eat them or serve them.
Hope you will try this recipe and not get intimidated.
Steamed Bao Buns with Cauliflower
Ingredients
Bao Bun
- 180 grams All purpose flour
- 10 grams milk powder omit if making vegan
- 2 grams baking powder
- 5 grams yeast
- 15 grams white sugar
- 15 grams oil
- 100 grams water
- Neutral oil
Sweet and Spicy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 1- 2 tbsp Soy low sodium
- 1 tsp Red Chili paste with garlic
- ¼ tsp Garlic powder
- ½ tsp Grated Ginger
- 1 tbsp Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Five spice optional
- ¼ tsp Black pepper
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp Honey use agave or sugar if making vegan
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
Baked Cauliflower
- 1 cup Cauliflower florets
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Water
Assembly- Veggies/garnishes
- 1/2 Red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped purple cabbage
- 1/3 cup pickled onions
- handful cilantro & spring onions
- handful roughly crushed peanuts
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
- half lemon
Instructions
Bao Bun
- Stir together dried yeast, sugar, and warm water, and set them aside for 5 minutes, until the yeast becomes foamy. Then, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and add the yeast mixture and the oil. Mix to form a rough ball. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for few minutes until the the dough is smooth and elastic. Set it aside to rise for 45 minutes or until doubles in a warm place.
Baked Cauliflower
- Meanwhile, let's baked the cauliflower. Combine the dry ingredients, add some water to make a thick batter. If your batter is runny it won't stick to the cauliflower. So, keep it thick in consistency. Drop cauliflower florets into the batter one by one and place them on greased baking tray and bake them for 20- 25 minutes at 400 F until crispy. Remove them once while baking to test if they are cooked in the middle.
Sauce/ Glaze
- As the cauliflower bakes, I made the sauce/glaze. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients of the sauce. Mix thoroughly. Taste to make sure it has all flavors of sweet, spicy, enough salt. It should make a thick sauce. Alternatively, you can cook it on stove for 2 minutes to thicken it up. Cornstarch will help for thick sauce.
- Once, the cauliflower is baked, brush them individually with the sauce/glaze and bake another 5 minutes so that the glaze sticks to it. Leave it aside.
Steaming Bao
- Punch the bao bun dough, form a log. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls and roll out each into oval shape. Slightly brush oil and fold the buns in the middle creating half moon. Place them on a parchment paper. Let them rest for another 20-30 minutes.
- Steam them in a pot or instant pot, for about 8-10 minutes.
- Chop the veggies and keep it ready while the bao bun are steaming.
Assembly/Serving
- Stuff the buns with the filling as soon as they come out of the steamer, as they’re best when they’re warm and soft. Brush the leftover glaze/sauce that we made on each side of the bao. Fill them with cauliflower, veggies , garnishes and a big squeeze of lime juice.
- I showed you two different ways to roll out the bao buns in the picture. One where you roll out all the dough and cut circles using round cutter. Second, where you can roll out small individual dough.
Notes
You can use lettuce leaves, corn husk, banana leaves to keep the buns from sticking to your steamer if you don’t have parchment.
You can also freeze the leftovers buns, individually wrapped and thawing them when you want to eat again. Re-steam it in your steamer for few minutes.
You can also make them smaller than the ones I showed you and make mini appetizer portions.
Pickled vegetables and sauce can be prepared a day before, to shorten the time in kitchen all at once. Serve them warm from the steamer. They are best as soon as they come off the heat, when they’re still soft and pliable. Did you try this recipe? Please tag @pistachiodoughnut on Instagram and hashtag #pistachiodoughnutrecipes
Enjoy!
XO, Devangi