I thought it was time to introduce some more Asian inspired meals to my boys. And what better and fun way than to start with crispy veggie bao buns? And guess what? They LOVED them! SWOON.
I have made bao buns many times before always altering and twisting along the way. And making them for the kids I adapted my recipe a bit again. The first attempt at this family friendly adaptation was spot on.
The dough turned out great (I made them with white whole wheat flour) and the texture of the buns was perfect; crunchy on the bottom, but soft and pillowy on top. The filling had just the right seasoning; great flavor and not too spicy so everyone enjoyed it.
And I made 2 dipping sauces that really compliment each other; a spicy sweet chili sauce and a salty soy ginger. What do you think? Want to make some crispy steamed buns for your family?
How I make these crispy veggie bao buns?
making the bao dough
The dough is simple to make. It only has 5 ingredients.
I mix the lukewarm milk (or water), yeast and sugar in a bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. This is to proof the yeast; is it foamy you can continue. If not, throw out your yeast; it is probably old. Start over with new yeast.
In the meantime I mix flour and salt in a large bowl. I add the foaming yeast mixture and the oil to it. Now I either transfer it to my food processor with the dough hook attached or I knead it by hand. When I knead the dough by hand it might take 5-10 minutes until I end up with a silky smooth dough.
Now I let the dough rest in a bowl for 30 minutes covered with a tea towel.
preparing the filling
I don’t put anything spicy in the filling (maybe just a little depending on what type of stir fry sauce I use..) to keep everyone in the family happy. Instead I serve these crispy veggie bao buns with 2 dipping sauce of which 1 is spicy.
In the meantime I heat up a skillet with a tablespoon of avocado oil to sauté the ginger, mushrooms and garlic. I stir until fragrant and then I add the shredded cabbage, finely cubed carrots, soy sauce and stir fry sauce (it’s optional, it just adds depth of flavor and binds the mixture a bit more). I cook the mixture for 1-2 minutes, add some salt and pepper to taste and transfer it to a medium size mixing bowl.
In the same skillet I heat up a bit of avocado oil quickly stir fry the kale with a pinch of salt. I add the kale to the cabbage mixture together with the chopped scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil.
The filling is now ready. I set it aside and prepare the dipping sauces before I roll out the dough for the buns.
making the dipping sauces
To get the kids involved, I let them help me make the sauces. These dipping sauces are easy to make, so this is a great job for them to do.
Because I keep the filling mild, I make a spicy dipping sauce and a salty one, so everyone has a dipping sauce they like to dip there crispy veggie bao bun in.
- 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.
- Sweet chili-lime sauce: instead of making the sauce from scratch I opted for store bought sweet chili sauce and added a bit of lime sauce to give it an extra kick. But it is super easy to make your own sweet chili sauce. Check it out here.
making the veggie bao buns
To make the buns, I turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll the dough into a log with my hands. I divide it into 12-14 pieces and roll each one into a ball. This also great for kids to do. So if you want to get your kids involved, this is a great chore for them!
Taking one dough ball, I flatten it slightly with the palm of my hand. I place it on the countertop and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 3-inch round. I make sure to leave a good thickness in the middle (approximately ⅕ inch / ½ cm; if the dough is too thin in the middle it won’t steam well and will become wrinkling on the top when steaming in the pan. Having said that, I do roll the edge out a bit thinner so it is easier to close the bao buns.
I take the rolled out dough in the palm of my hand and place a heaping tablespoon of filling onto it.
To seal the bun, I pleat the dough and place it on a plate pleated side down. I continue filling and closing until all buns are ready.
| This video with detailed step-by-step instructions has helped me a lot getting the pleading down. |
I heat up a skillet with 2 teaspoons of oil and swirl it around. Making sure the buns are not touching each other, I place all buns in the skillet next to each other. I pan fry them for 30 seconds until the bottoms are light brown.
Slowly I pour in hot water into the skillet until the buns are ⅓ covered in water. I place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat to medium-low and cook/steam them until all water is absorbed.
I serve these crispy veggie bao buns with the 2 dipping sauce and often a side of stir fried veggies and noodles.
Other filling suggestions:
- A simple mixture of chicken/turkey cubes (I cut the chicken breast in ½ cm/ ¼ inch mini cubes), ginger and garlic; stir fry chicken, ginger and garlic. Add soy sauce and optionally some stir fry sauce. Always a big hit with my kids!
- Zucchini and carrot noodles; similar to the veggies filling in this recipe but I swap the cabbage and mushrooms for zucchini and carrots. I use a spiralizer to make noodles out of the zucchini and carrot.
A huge success these crispy veggie bao buns in my family! I hope you will love them too! They are
both crispy and soft – so flavorful – easy to make – family friendly – and SO delicious
More Asian inspirated family meals will follow soon. In the meantime check out my spring rolls, sweet and sour shrimp, family friendly tikka masala, Thai lentil curry, and Indonesian Gado Gado.
Crispy veggie bao buns
Equipment
- (Small) rolling pin
Ingredients
The dough
- 225 gr white whole wheat flour (or sub regular all purpose flour)
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tsp sugar (of choice, I used coconut sugar)
- 150 gr (plant based) milk or water (luke warm)
Filling
- 2½ tbsp avocado oil (or other type of oil of choice)(divided)
- 4 cups cabbage (shredded)
- 1 cup kale (chopped)
- 6-8 mushrooms (of choice)(thinly sliced or cubed)
- 1 medium carrot (finely diced)
- 2 tsp ginger (thinly sliced or diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or sub tamari or coconut aminos)
- 2 tsp stir fry sauce (of choice)(optional)
- 1 tsp sugar (I used coconut sugar)
- 1 tbsp scallions (diced/rings)(optional)
- 2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
Sweet chili dipping sauce (optional)
- 6 tbsp sweet chili sauce (of choice)
- 1-2 tbsp lime juice
Soy ginger dipping sauce (optional)
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger (finely diced)
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
The dough
- Mix the milk/water, yeast and sugar in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. This is to proof the yeast; is it foamy you can continue. If not, throw out your yeast; it is probably old. Start over with new yeast.
- Add flour and salt to a large bowl and mix. Add the yeast mixture and the oil. Either transfer it to a food processor with the dough hook attached or knead by hand until a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until it is smooth. Kneading by hand might take 5-10 minutes, but you will end up with a silky smooth dough.
- Now let it rest in a bowl for 30 minutes covered with a tea towel.
The filling
- While the dough is resting, heat up a skillet with a tablespoon of avocado oil to sauté the ginger, mushrooms and garlic. Stir until fragrant and then add the cabbage, carrots, soy sauce and stir fry sauce. Cook the mixture for 1-2 minutes, add some salt + pepper and transfer it to a medium size mixing bowl.
- In the same skillet heat up another tablespoon of avocado oil and quickly stir fry the kale with a pinch of salt.
- Add the kale to the cabbage mixture together with the chopped scallions and sesame oil. Set it aside until the dough is rolled out and ready to be filled.
Sweet chili dipping sauce (optional)
- Mix sweet chili sauce with lime juice and stir.
Soy-ginger dipping sauce (optional)
- Mix soy sauce with ginger and sesame seeds and stir.
Making the veggie bao buns
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll the dough into a log with your hands. Divide it into 12-14 pieces and roll each one into a ball.
- Take one dough ball and flatten it slightly with the palm of your hand. Place it on the countertop and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 3-inch round. Make sure to leave a good thickness in the middle; roll out the edges thinner by only going over the edges and not the middle of the dough.
- Take the rolled out dough in the palm of your hand and place a heaping tablespoon of filling onto it. Pleat the dough to seal the bun. Place it on a plate, pleated side down. Continue filling and closing until all buns are ready.
- Heat up a skillet with 2 teaspoon of oil and swirl it around. Place all buns in the skillet next to each other. Make sure the buns are not touching (if you want perfectly round bao buns). Pan fry them for 30 seconds until the bottoms are light brown.
- Slowly pour hot water into the skillet until the buns are ⅓ covered in water. Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat to medium-low and cook/steam them until all water is absorbed.
- Serve bao buns with dipping sauce and sides of choice such as noodles and stir fried green beans.
Notes
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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