The BEST Bao Buns Recipe & Video - Seonkyoung Longest (2024)

FAQs

Why add vinegar to bao? ›

In order to get white bao, many Chinese American cooks use low-gluten (low-protein), bleached cake flour for their bao dough; cake flour is milled from soft wheat and has 8 to 10% gluten/protein. To make up for the flour's lack of gluten a touch of vinegar is added to result in more chewy dough.

Microwaving from Frozen

Use water to wet all surfaces of the frozen bao bun (this will ensure that the dough doesn't crack when heated). Place bun on a plate in the microwave. Heat on high for approximately one minute.

Bao Buns (pronounced “bow”), but also known as a 'steamed buns' or 'baozi' 包子, are a delicious, warm, fluffy treat of stuffing wrapped inside a sweet, white dough. Made with a mix of flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil, the bao is a tad sweeter than its closely related cousin, the dumpling.

Try using a portion of or 100% bread flour for your dough. Many of these attributes can be traced back to different parts of China. To achieve the bright white fluffier buns you might see in Cantonese cuisine, you'll have to seek out very low protein, bleached flour.

Preboiling the water can sometimes lead to a firmer texture if the bao has not fully leavened or proofed.

Vinegar helps with the rise of our baked goods

Firstly, vinegar helps our baked goods rise and create an airy texture by reacting with baking soda. When vinegar reacts with baking soda, it creates carbon dioxide bubbles, which act as leavening agents.

Soy-ginger sauce: This simple dipping sauce is quick to make. I mix soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos), finely chopped ginger and sesame seeds. The ginger will infuse the soy sauce. So sometimes I make this ahead of time so the ginger flavor will be stronger.

- Put a small amount of water in a wok, and put a small bowl onto the wok - Place a plate with some greaseproof paper on top of the bowl (you can also use a large saucepan if you wish) - Bring the water to boil - Put the baos onto the greaseproof paper - Place a tall lid on the wok, or a flat lid if you are using a ...

Bao or Baozi are said to have been invented in China during the 3rd century by a military strategist called Zhuge Liang [181-234]. They were first named Mantou but over time they began to be referred to as baozi or bao meaning to wrap in Mandarin.

Is bao Chinese or Vietnamese? ›

The Bao ('bun') developed in Chinese culture as a filled form of 'Mantou,' a plain steamed dumpling which is often compared to bread.

We always serve these buns with thinly sliced carrot and/or cucumber, fresh cilantro or mint, avocado, chiles, and sesame seeds. A few pickled jalapeños or the banh mi pickles from this recipe would also be excellent here.

Try basting your buns for moisture and flavor.

"Using melted butter with just a 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, chili powder, or cumin can totally transform a boring bun."

White wheat flour that has a low to medium gluten content works best for bao buns. I usually use all-purpose flour (aka plain flour) since it's the most accessible type and has a medium gluten level (9-12g protein per 100g flour). If you're looking for the fluffiest buns, use cake flour which is low in gluten.

Three aluminum foil wads should be enough to keep it stable. Foods with a flat bottom that will sit sturdily on the plate and not roll around too much are ideal — think fish filets, gyoza, and steamed buns, to name a few.

Grain-based black vinegar (醋, cù) is a fixture of Chinese pantries that adds a rich, slightly sweet, tangy flavor to raw salads and cooked dishes. The same Maillard reaction that turns your onions into sweet, concentrated slivers of caramelized flavor is responsible for black vinegar's deep umami.

Adding an acidic component (foods we'd consider to be sour) almost always enhances the flavors of a dish. A splash of vinegar or squeeze of lemon adds a brightness to foods that often doesn't occur on its own.

It's used as a dipping sauce, to flavour stir fry, soup and stew. When consumed, vinegar helps to break down starchy food such as noodles, wheat buns and white rice. Soy sauce, the 'Chinese salt' is made from beans while vinegar is made from a variety of berries and grains.

It is used to flavor dishes — often to add a brightness or a “punchy” flavor to whatever you are making — and as a preserving and pickling agent to keep foods fresh.