Recipe: Bao Buns

This delicious and impressive recipe for Bao buns will have your dinner guests bowing down to you in no time – enjoy!

Bao ingredients

1 x sachet dried yeast (7g)
1 cup (250ml) milk, warmed
¼ cup (60g) sugar
3 cups (450g) Lighthouse Cake, Sponge & Steamed Bun self-raising flour
1 tbsp oil

Filling ingredients

600g chicken or firm tofu
60ml light soy sauce
40ml dark soy sauce
20ml rice wine
20ml oyster sauce
100g sugar
20g cornflour

Garnish ingredients

Chives, sliced
Cucumber, thinly sliced
Carrots, cut into very thin strips

Method

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warmed (not more than 40°C) milk. Add the flour and oil and mix until dough forms.

Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10–15 minutes until smooth, soft and elastic. Alternatively use the dough hook attachment of an electric mixer.

Shape dough into a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film or a beeswax wrap and allow to rest in a warm place for 45–60 minutes or until doubled in size.*

Turn out dough and knead lightly for 1 minute. Shape into a 3cm thick log and cut into 3cm long pieces (approx. 18–20 pieces). Roll each piece into a ball and allow to rest for 3 minutes.

Roll out each ball into an oval 3–4mm thick. Lightly brush the surface of the rolled-out dough with oil and gently fold in half.

Transfer the buns onto a lined baking tray and cover with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave to prove in a warm place for 60
to 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Heat a large steamer over medium heat and cook buns
for 8 minutes.

To make the filling

Finely dice the tofu or chicken into pieces and fry in an
oiled saucepan until fully cooked. Add soy sauces, rice wine
and oyster sauce.

Add sugar and mix well. Cook until sugar has completely
dissolved. Adjust sugar to taste.

Add cornflour and mix well. Allow to simmer and thicken.
If sauce is not thick enough, add ½ tsp more powder at a time.

Assembling the bao

Gently pull open the bao and spoon in the filling.
Garnish with thin slices of cucumber, carrot and chives.

* Proofing time will vary depending on where the dough is placed. This step is critical in ensuring the yeast produces sufficient aeration so that the baked bread develops a light, even texture.