These buns are absolutely delicious. Super fluffy, filled with crispy tofu, crisp vegetable slaw, and topped off with sriracha mayo. I'm actually pretty proud of this dish. I went off by what I've seen, and not something I've actually eaten. So I had to get creative and really think about what flavors go well together. It’s so delicious and my friends and family love these.
Let’s talk about these buns!
This steamed Chinese bread is flat and folded in half. Also known as bao buns or lotus leaf buns. The lotus leaf bun shape makes for a type of sandwich bun, I mean it’s really the Chinese version of a burger. Instead of filling it with ground beef, typically it's filled with braised pork or other savory meat.
I’m gonna be honest, I personally never ate an actual bao bun like this before. I always see it around on social media, YouTube, and even street food shows. They all looked so delicious and I wanted to try it. Since moving to Virginia, I have not seen a restaurant or even a food truck serve vegan bao buns. So, I took inspiration from what I’ve seen and ended up making my own version of this dish. If any of you are from the DMV area, please let me know if there are any awesome vegan food trucks! I would love to try them all!
My favorite thing about these buns is that they are really a blank canvas. Just like sandwich bread you can practically fill these with anything you want. I’ve seen a whole bunch of variations, such as Korean BBQ, fried chicken, pulled pork, etc! The options are endless, and that's how I decided to make my own vegan version.
Top Tips:
- I highly suggest making the bao buns a day ahead. They can be stored in the fridge and easily reheated. Then the following day make the rest of the ingredients and then assemble!
- When cooking up these buns, it’ll be so tempting to uncover the steamer basket once the time is up. However, you need to let the buns set! Otherwise if you uncover them right away they will deflate and lose its fluffiness. So, once the cooking time is up, turn off the heat, and allow the buns to set an additional 5 minutes covered in the steamer basket.
- If you do not have a bamboo steamer basket, you can use a steamer pot. But make sure to wrap the pot cover with a towel and tie it up. The condensation that comes from the pot cover can drip onto the buns and it can ruin them.
- It’s pretty unlikely that you will be able to fit all the buns at once into the steamer basket. First of all, work in batches. Then, to avoid the buns from over proofing while you are cooking, set the excess buns in the fridge.
If you’d tried this recipe out let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @flouredframe and don’t forget to tag me when you create my recipes! Happy cooking!
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📖 Recipe
Tofu Karaage Bao Buns
Equipment
- Food scale or measuring cups, see notes
- Measuring spoons
- Damp cloth
- Mixing bowls
- Rolling Pin
- 4-inch cookie cutter
- Parchment Paper
- Large pan to fit the steamer basket
- Saute pan to cook the tofu
Ingredients
Bao Dough
- 320 grams All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 50 grams Granulated sugar
- 156 grams Warm water (100° Fahrenheit)
- 21 grams Vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Instant yeast
Slaw:
- ¼ Head of red cabbage (thinly sliced or shredded)
- 1 Medium carrot (thinly sliced or shredded)
- ¼ teaspoon Sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon Rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Agave
- Pinch of salt & pepper (to taste)
Filling:
- Tofu Karaage
- Cucumbers (thinly sliced)
- Sriracha mayo
Instructions
Make Dough:
- In the bowl of a stand-mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, instant yeast, and oil. With the dough hook attachment, on the lowest speed, allow it to mix the ingredients together until it starts forming a shaggy dough. Increase speed to 2 and continue to knead for 10-12 minutes. You should get a smooth and supple dough. Not too sticky and bounces back when you press it.
- Roughly shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and set it in a warm spot to rise. About 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Slaw & Karaage:
- In a bowl, mix together the sesame oil, rice vinegar, agave, salt and pepper. Then toss it together with thinly sliced red cabbage and carrots. Cover, and place it in the fridge until assembly. Cook the tofu karaage from my recipe. Set aside until assembly.
Assemble:
- Transfer the dough to a work surface, and roll out into an even ¼ inch thickness. Using a 4-inch cookie cutter or cup to cut out circles of dough. Set the cut out dough aside. Knead the excess dough together and repeat.
- Take each circle of dough, and roll it out into an oval. Don’t elongate too much, just enough that it is longer than the circle. Then lightly brush the tops of each dough with oil, then fold it half and gently flatten. Place the folded dough on the parchment squares. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes, until puffed.
- Prep a pan with 1-inch of water, and bring it to a simmer. Working in batches, place the dough in the bamboo steamer, make sure not to overcrowd the steamer. Leave enough space in between as it will puff up in size. Set the steamer over the pan, and steam for 10 minutes. (Keep the excess buns in the fridge while the others are steaming).
- After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let the buns rest inside the steamer for 5 minutes. Do NOT Remove the cover/lid. This is very important, because if you remove the cover too early, the buns will collapse and lose their fluffy shape. Carefully remove the bao from the steamer and set it onto a wire cooling rack. Continue cooking the rest.
- Assemble the bao buns in this order: slaw, cucumbers, karaage, and top it off with sriracha mayo. Serve and enjoy!
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