Steamed Bao are truly delicious, soft buns filled with meat that make them even more tempting. For the filling, I used mirin and oyster sauce, which you can find in Chinese grocery stores or well-stocked supermarkets.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Steaming
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup water (warm)
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 7 oz ground mixed meat (pork and beef or just pork)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- to taste fresh ginger (grated)
- to taste garlic powder
- to taste dried onion
Steps
On a work surface, knead the flour, water, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt.
Form a dough ball; if it’s too sticky, add a little more flour and knead a bit more. Place it in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, towels, and let it rise for about two hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling by mixing the ground meat, soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, garlic powder, dried onion, and grated ginger in a bowl.
Mix the ingredients well and let them rest for an hour in the fridge to enhance the flavors.
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead it quickly.
Divide it into four equal balls, and divide the filling into four parts as well.
Roll each ball with a rolling pin to create a circle about 5 inches in diameter. Fill each disc with the meat.
Seal the bao tightly.
Let them rest for another half hour, covered with plastic wrap and towels.
Prepare the steamer, lining each basket with parchment paper and puncturing it to allow steam to pass through and prevent condensation
Place the bao in the steamer and cook for about 20 minutes. Halfway through cooking, after about 10 minutes, swap the baskets, moving the one at the bottom to the top and vice versa. Turn off the steamer and carefully remove the Bao to avoid burning yourself.
Tips, Suggestions
The Steamed Bao I prepared are slightly large; we like them this way, but if you want them smaller, divide the dough and filling into six parts.
If you liked the Steamed Bao, try the other Chinese recipes:
Vegetable Spaghetti with Soy Sauce
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