Vegetarian Bao Buns

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These Vegetarian Bao Buns are so softy, fluffy and utterly perfect. These steamed bao buns are filled withsavory sautéed mushrooms. 

Vegetarian Bao Buns

If you make them the legit AF way, the way you’re supposed to, you’re going to take pork fat and render it and pour it into this bread dough. But, I found that butter (a bit easier to find and deal with) is just as good. I adapted this recipe from David Chang’s recipe.

How to Make Vegetarian Bao Bun Dough!

This dough is so simple, if you’ve ever made, like, cinnamon rolls, this dough is comparable. The milk adds such a nice softness that is so v necessary. It’s in many ways an enriched dough, minus the butter.

There are two shorter-than-usual rises and then they steam in a basket for only about five minutes. Before doing this, I had never steam-cooked bread and now I’m like, man, what else can I do with this dough?!?! what other dough can i steam?!

These buns are so supple and soft and delicious. I wished I could crawl into one of these bao buns and take a nap–that’s how soft and gorgeous they are.

Vegetarian Bao Buns

Vegetarian Bao Buns

It’s dreamy.

Filling for Steamed Bao Buns!

  • sautéed mushrooms with tons of green onions and sesame seeds
  • some julienned carrots
  • sliced cucumbers
  • micro greens!

I know this is a blog post for Vegetarian Bao Buns but if you want, like, sear up some slices of pork belly and put them in there. It’ll be delicious!

Vegetarian Bao Buns

But I also had the super trashy idea of making mini meatballs and making bao buns meatball sandwiches…Josh thinks this idea is the trashiest/best idea in the world. I think it’d be dope but I also think I prefer the snappiness and freshness the cucumbers and carrots and micro greens offer.

Do what you want!

Here’s a link to the steam basket, see below in the *NOTES for what to do if you don’t own one.

5 from 4 votes

Bao Buns Recipe

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Rising Time: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6
These Bao Buns are steamed and filled with sautéed mushrooms like enokis. Traditional bao buns use lard but these are vegetarian-friendly.

Equipment

  • 1 steam basket
  • 1 Electric Stand-Up Mixer
  • 2 stainless steel bowls

Ingredients 

Easy Bao Bun Dough:

  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup warm milk
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 2 3/4 cup bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Mushroom Filling + For Serving:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 pound mushrooms of choice, I used enoki and oyster mushrooms
  • 2 green onions, trimmed and sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 2 tablespoons light-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, plus more as garnish
  • 1 Persian cucumber, sliced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
  • Handful of micro greens

Instructions 

To Make the Bao Bun Dough:

  • To the bowl of a stand-up mixer, with the hook attachment, pour in the warm water, milk and active dry yeast. Allow to stand until activated and foamy, about 5 minutes.
  • In another medium bowl, whisk together the bread flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
  • To the stand-up mixer, slowly add the bread flour mixture. And then pour in the melted butter. Continue mixing on the lowest speed for 8 minutes. During this time, the flour should pull away from the bowl and become a cohesive dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball. Return it to the bowl and cover the bowl with a clean towel. Place it in a warm place until it’s doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Punch the dough down and transfer it to a lightly floured countertop. Using a rolling pin (or wine bottle), roll it out so it’s about 1/2-inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, stamp out as many bao buns as you can manage.
  • Fold the rounds over into a moon shape, like a taco. Lightly roll them using the rolling pin, flattening them slightly. Allow them to proof on the counter for about 15 minutes.
  • Find a saucepan or pot that fits your steam basket. Fill it with a few inches of water and place it over medium-high heat. Add a round of parchment to the bottom to the center of the steam basket (this will prevent the bao buns from sticking!).
  • Remove the steam basket from the saucepan or pot and add three or four bap buns. Place the top on and transfer it to the saucepan. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the bao buns are puffy and soft to the touch. Remove from the parchment and set aside. Repeat with the remaining bao buns.
  • Keep in a 200 degree F oven to keep them warm while you cook the rest.

To Make the Filling:

  • You can make this filling before you start steaming the bao buns so it’s ready to go!
  • To a small skillet, set over medium heat, add the olive oil. When warm, add the mushrooms and green onions. Cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in the garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and Sriracha. Give it a mix and let it cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Salt to taste. Mix in the sesame seeds.

To Assemble the Bao Buns:

  • Slice the bao buns in half with a knife. Add a spoonful of the filling into the bao buns and fill with a few slices of cucumbers, julienned carrots and micro greens.

Notes

Substitution Possibilities: 
*If you want to use pork fat, you can directly substitute the butter for liquid pork fat.
*If you don't have a bamboo steam basket, you can use a meat rack placed atop a saucepan. Be sure to put parchment between the rack and the bao buns tho because they'll stick!
Equipment: 
Stand-Up Mixer | Stainless Steel Bowls | Chef's Knife | Bamboo Steam Basket | 

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 1045mg | Potassium: 196mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1923IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!

Looking for more Asian-inspired Recipes? Here are some of my favorites:

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Hi! I'm Adrianna and this is my cozy space on the internet that is super-charged by butter, flour and copious amounts of pasta. Stay awhile, will you!

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20 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made these and they turned out perfect. Your recipes never disappoint!!! Can I store these after steaming.

  2. Hi, there. I’m confused about how to slice the bao buns in half. Which way are they supposed to be cut? After they’re finished steaming, the buns are shaped like a taco half (moon shape). If I slice it in half, it will be shaped like a pie wedge and I won’t be able to fold it into a semicircle like your pictures show. If I slice it through the thickness lengthwise, then it will only be a half taco shape. Shouldn’t the buns be shaped like a circle and sliced through the thickness after they’re cooked, and then folded in half so you can put the filling inside it? I’m so confused!

    1. You should not cut the bun in half all the way through – just slit open in the folding, so you still have the Taco shape – like you see in the pictures above.