Bao

Ingredients

Dough

• 5 g instant yeast (~1.5-2 tsp)
• 4 C flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1.5 C lukewarm water
• 1 tsp sugar

Filling Options (choose 1)

Carrot Ginger Beefless Beef

• 1 12oz pack of Trader Joe’s Beefless Beef
• 2 tsp grated ginger (frozen works great)
• 8 oz baby carrots, food processed
• 1-2 C shitaake mushrooms, food processed
• 6 sprigs scallion, chopped
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp shaoxing wine (sub w/ cooking sherry)
• 1-2 tsp soy sauce, more to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp white pepper *, ground

Chicken Mushroom

• 2 Tbsp peanut oil (sub canola)
• 1/3 C shallot, chopped (sub red onion)
• 2 large dried shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, reconstituted, and diced (1/4 C in the end)
• 1/4 C garlic chives, chopped (sub green onion, green part only)
• 1/2 tsp + 1-2 pinches salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper *, ground
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp fish sauce (sub soy sauce)
• 1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce (sub veg oyster sauce/hoisin sauce)
• 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp egg white, lightly beaten (1-2 eggs)
• 6 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs, coarsely ground or hand-chopped
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, coarsely chopped (leafy tops only)
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced (can use frozen cubes, throw into pan after sautéing shallots and mushrooms)

Alternative Fillings

1. Palak tofu with peas and corn (where spinach is more coarse and not fully blended), can be mixed with food processed tofu to create a very nice filling.

Instructions

The general order here is as follows:

1. Make the filling
2. Make the dough
3. Assemble and proof
4. Cook

Make the Filling

Carrot Ginger Beefless Beef

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat and cook ginger until thawed and slightly brown.
2. Add grated carrot and shitake mushroom and cook until slightly soft.
3. Add beefless beef and mix thoroughly.
4. Add scallions, white pepper, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Adjust with additional seasonings if desired.
5. Let cool to room temperature while making dough.

Chicken Mushroom

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, and cook 6-8 min–stirring frequently–until they start to caramelize. Add the mushroom, sprinkle in 1-2 pinches of salt, and cook 1-2 min, until fragrant. Remove from the heat, stir in the garlic chives. Set aside to cool completely.
2. In a larger bowl, combine the cooled vegetables, chicken, cilantro, and ginger.
3. In a small bowl, combine the remaining salt, pepper, sugar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch and egg whites. Beat with a fork to blend well. Pour over the chicken and vegetable mixture, and combine thoroughly.
4. Cover the filling with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 min, or refrigerate overnight, returning it to room temperature before assembling.

Making the Dough

1. In large bowl, dissolve sugar in lukewarm water. Add instant yeast and stir to dissolve.
2. Add flour to water. Knead in bowl, then on floured cutting board for 15 min.
3. Place dough back in bowl, drape bowl with damp towel to prevent dough from drying (but don’t let towel touch dough) and prove at 75-80 F for 1 hr.

Assemble

1. On the floured wooden cutting board, punch the proven dough back down gently with a few kneads. Add more flour if dough is too wet. Form a roll. With a knife, cut into 16 even pieces **. Roll each piece in dry flour, return them to bowl and cover with damp towel.
2. Roll each dough ball into a pancake with edges as thin as possible, while keeping center about 5 mm thick.
3. Use spoon to form a compact mound (~1 Tbsp **) of filling in center of dough.
4. Gather and pinch edges of skin around filling (see here for video).
5. Let baos proof at room temperature for another 15 min before cooking.

Optional: freeze bao now to cook later.

Cook

Steamed

1. Line bottom of bamboo steaming rack with silicon liners (sub silicon liners with rinsed and dried cabbage leaves).
2. Bring water to boil in wok, making sure water level is not high enough to seep through bottom of rack.
3. Place baos on cabbage leaves and steam rack in wok for 15-20 min, checking periodically to make sure water has not dried out.
4. Baos are fully cooked when skin springs back instantly when poked.

Optional: If steaming frozen baos, cook for an extra 5-10 min.

Pan-fried (Shengjian)

1. On medium-high heat, warm canola or sesame oil in a frying pan that has a lid. Add baos and cook for 3-5 min until bottoms are golden brown.
2. Add 1/4 C water (careful of hot steam & spitting oil), cover with lid, and cook for additional 5-7 min. Add additional water if pan runs completely dry.
3. Toss with sesame seeds and additional scallions to finish.

Notes

* White pepper IS different from black pepper in both taste and appearance. You CAN replace white pepper with black pepper but white is preferred.

** Each bao should be ~30-35g of dough (approximately golf ball size). The filling should be ~20-25g inside the bao.