As my time to leave China approaches, I have been scrambling to learn how to make the dishes that I know for sure I will be missing after I’m gone. Steamed shitake mushroom vegetable buns are among the first on my list. Warm, soft, and nutritious, the bao buns have been my go-to breakfast throughout my time in China. What I like most about them is that they come with different fillings. This makes the bao buns versatile and enjoyable even if you had them every other day of the week.

What are Bao Buns

The bao bun that you might have seen in Pixar’s short movie, is actually a typical Chinese breakfast.  In Chinese bao buns are called 包子baozi. They call for leavened dough which involves the use of yeast. There are many varieties of bun fillings, usually meat or vegetarian. They’re always steamed.

There are two types of bao buns: big bun (大包) measuring about 10 cm, and small buns (小笼包) which comes to about 5 cm.

The big buns are usually purchased individually and one to two of them is enough for breakfast. The small buns come in portions of usually about 10 pieces. They are perfect for sharing.  Both are great takeaway breakfast options.

Read more about other tasty Chinese breakfast foods:

Chinese Breakfast Foods for People Who Love Variety

How to Make the Eight Treasures (Chinese Congee Recipe)

How to Make Bao Buns

The process for preparing the bao dough isn’t much different from preparing a bread dough.

Dissolve the yeast in warm water and set aside for about few minutes. In a separate bowl put the flour and add a pinch of salt, sugar, baking powder, and a tablespoon of sunflower oil. When the yeast becomes frothy add it to the flour mixture. Finally add some milk, warm water, and start kneading. Add extra water if needed.

Knead until the dough texture is smooth or until it starts to resemble that of a bread dough. Then put a plastic wrap on top and let it sit at room temperature for about 90 minutes.

After the dough rises and has doubled in size, add a bit more flour to it and start kneading a second time. This will ensure the dough is soft.

Cut the dough into small equal bits. Take a rolling pin and roll around the edges to get a round shape. Depending on the size of the bun, this recipe should give about 20 buns.

Now you are ready to start filling the buns.

The Bao Buns Filling: Shitake Mushroom Vegetable Recipe

For the Bao filling you will need:

Shiitake mushrooms (300g)

Baby bok-choy (500g)

Tofu (250 g)

Light soy sauce (3 Tbs)

Oyster sauce (1 Tbs)

Sesame oil (1 Tbs)

Directions:

Put the baby bok choy in water and boil for few minutes. After they’ve softened, rinse them with cold water and blend or chop them into very tiny bits. Set aside.

The next step is to soften the mushrooms and extract the water from each one of them. You can either boil them, chop into tiny bits and then stir-fry or even air-fry them. Air-frying mushrooms is a really effective way to extract the water from them while retaining the nutrients. Chop and set aside.

Finally, cut the tofu into very small pieces. Stir fry it for 5-8 mins, just before it gets crispy. I used smoked tofu, as you can see from the picture bellow the smoked tofu tends have a brownish skin.

After you’ve prepared and cut the vegetables, add them to the same bowl, and start seasoning with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil.

Mix it well, and you are ready to start filling your baozi. 

Other fillings:

This is traditional vegetarian bao buns filling, but if you can’t find bok-choy or tofu, feel free to add other vegetables, such as carrots, cabbage, celery, chives or spring onions.

Another very popular vegetarian bao filling is chives with fried eggs. You would need to scramble the eggs, fry them and cut into tiny bits before you add them to the mixture.

If you don’t mind meat, then the ground pork and celery, as well as lamb and carrot combinations are also very delicious.

How Do You Wrap a Chinese Bao? The Pleating Technique

The Chinese Bao has a very unique look, though it takes some practice if you want to master it.

After you stuff the wrappers with filling, hold the bao in your non-dominant hand, while pressing the filling gently with your thumb.

Use your thumb and the index finger, on the other hand, to fold along the edges and form pleats evenly. Do it anticlockwise until you reach the other end.

When you are done, finally pinch it together to enclose the bun. Now, this takes some mastery, and don’t expect your bao buns to look perfect when you are trying it for the first time. Watch this video to learn how to pleat a bao.

How Do I Make My Steamed Buns Fluffy?

The secret to making the buns fluffy and soft like a sponge is to cover and let them rest for about 20 mins before steaming. The yeast will cause the dough to rise again and your bao buns will get that beautiful shape you see on the pictures.

Steaming the Buns

To recreate the whole experience, I bought a bamboo steamer like the breakfast vendors use. Use parchment paper to put underneath each bao. Depending on the size of the steamer and your bao buns, it should fit between 3 and 9 pieces.

Place the steamer over a pot you’ve previously filled with cold water. Turn on the fire and let them steam for about 10 -12 mins.

Please note that for each new batch of buns you will be steaming you need to change the water. Water should be cold with each batch, so the buns enjoy a slow cooking. It is slow cooking that makes them soft.

Watch the time and do not over steam them. Over steaming will cause your buns to become tough.

 What to Serve with Bao Buns?

 Bao Buns are very tasty just on their own. In China, we usually dip them in a mixture of soy sauce, black rice vinegar, and chilly oil. This makes them even tastier. 

Where to Buy Bao Buns?

If you aren’t feeling particularly challenged to master the pleating and making of bao buns by yourself, you could always choose to use premade ones. You could probably find them in the freezer section of any Asian market. 

Bao Bun Kits on Amazon

Are Bao Buns Healthy?

How healthy your bao buns are is largely up to you. They are incredibly versatile. Most often they are made of white flour and filled with a combination of meat and vegetables. However, by substituting some of the ingredients, you can enjoy gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan bao buns. It all depends on you.

Nowadays there are many western versions of bao buns, such as pizza, chocolate, and Nutella flavored buns.

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