Vietnamese Pork Steamed Bun Recipe (Banh Bao)

Warm and soft bun with savory pork filling, Banh Bao is Vietnamese style of steamed bun. The white and round bun is stuffed with pork, sweet sausage, mushroom and egg. Some cook love to add vegetables such as cabbage, napa cabbage or even carrot in the filling mixture.

This bun is eaten during snack or breakfast time. It's filling, cheap and tasty. My spouse and kid love to get it for lunch on-the-go or school recess.

Here is how to make Banh Bao at home. Unlike traditional bao recipe, the dough in this recipe is not yeast-based dough and the filling is quite special with addition of Chinese bbq pork. It's easier and you have no need to wait for the dough to rise.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

Dough:

4 1/2 cup self-rising flour

1 1/2 cup milk

2 - 3 tbsp canola oil

12 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Filling:

2 spring onions, chopped

4 tbsp chopped onion

1/2 lbs ground pork

1 Chinese sausage (lap xuong), thinly slices

1/2 cup Char Siu pork (Thit Xa Xiu), matchstick

2 hardboiled eggs, cut into 16 wedges

5 shiitake mushrooms, soaked and chopped

1 cup thinly sliced cabbage

5 tsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/3 tsp salt

pinch of black pepper

• To make the filling, in a mixing bowl. combine spring onions, onion, ground pork, Char Siu pork, Chinese sausage, mushrooms, cabbage, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, salt and black pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside.
• In a bowl, combine self-rising flour and sugar. Then add the oil and milk. Using a spatula, stir the ingredients to form a soft dough. Then knead the dough for 2 minutes or until smooth and slightly sticky. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and rest it for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, prepare the steamer. Fill the steamer pan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Then lower the heat.
• Prepare 16 pieces 3-inch squares of parchment paper. Set aside.
• Divide the dough into 2 big balls. Shape one of the balls into a log and cut into 8 equal pieces. Cover the remaining dough with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
• To make a bun, put a piece of dough on a lightly flour work surface. Then press and shape it into a disk. Use a rolling pin to roll out the disk into a flat and round bun wrapper. It will be about 5-inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick.
• Put 2 tablespoon of filling and 1 wedge of egg in the center of wrapper. Then cover the filling with dough (wrapper) by pleating the edges. Take the pleats up and twist it to close securely. Place the bun on a parchment square, with pleated side down. Repeat the same procedures with the remaining dough.
• Return the water in the steamer into a rolling boil. Place the buns in the steamer, cover and steam for 20 minutes or until they have puffed up and the filling is done.