Steamed Pork Buns (Bánh Bao) is one of the most popular street foods in Vietnam with fluffy exterior and savory filling. It is usually white in color and can be served at any time of a day.
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| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
buns
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Ingredients
For the Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 3-4 drops lime juice
For the Fillings
- 1/2 lbs ground pork (or any kind of meat)
- 1.45 oz mung bean noodle
- 1/2 yellow onion (peeled)
- 2-3 egg (or 9 quail eggs) (hard-boiled and peeled)
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning (optional)
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 Chinese sausage
- 3 big dried black fungus
Ingredients
For the Dough
For the Fillings
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Instructions
Making the Dough
- Ingredients
- Warm milk in microwave for 30 seconds. Add 2 tsp sugar. Stir until dissolved. Then add active dry yeast. Stir gently. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes or until foam. (The milk should be warm enough to the touch; so that it will not kill the yeast.)
- In a mixing bowl, add all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, remaining sugar, vegetable oil and lime juice. Pour in the yeast. Mix well until smooth. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Place in a warm place for 2 hours or until the dough about double in size.
Making the Filling
- Soak dried fungus in hot water and the noodle in warm water for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain well.
- Cut hard-boil eggs into 4 pieces. Slice chinese sausages thinly on a diagonal. Dice yellow onion well. Cut noodle into 1 inch. Mince the fungus.
- In a bowl, add ground pork, mushroom seasoning (optional), ground pepper, sugar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, salt, onion, fungus, and noodle. Mix until combined. Set aside.
Back to the Dough
- After 2 hours, lightly flour on a work surface. Place the dough on and divide it into 9 parts equally. Then roll into small balls. Cover and let the balls rest for 10 minutes.
- Once again, lightly flour on the work surface. Place 1 dough ball on and flatten by using a rolling pin. (Flatten the edge so it's thinner than the middle.)
- Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of the dough. Place 3 Chinese sausage slices around the filling. Top with 1 piece of egg.
- Pull the edge of dough over the filling and fold it into layers. Then twist the top to secure the bun. Pat around the bun to make shape. Place the bun on a piece of paper. Continue to do so until you finish all the dough balls and fillings.
- Bring water in a steamer to a boil on medium heat. Add vinegar. (This will make the buns whiter in color.)
- Place the buns into the steamer. (Remember to leave space so that they will have room to rise.)
- Cover the top and steam for 20 minutes. (The top should be wrapped with a kitchen towel so that the water doesn't drip into the buns.)
- After 20 minutes, remove the top and place the buns on a dish. Now it is ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
Wrap the leftover in a plastic wrap. It can be stored for a few week in the fridge. Anytime you want to have it, just simply steam or microwave the buns.
These came out great. Is it possible to use the same recipe and make steamed rolls (not filled). If so is the steaming time the same?
Hi Janet, you can use the same recipe to make steamed rolls. The steaming time would be around 10 minutes instead of 20 minutes since we don’t have the meat fillings. Thanks for trying our recipe. You can also try our vegetarian version if you like.
What do you have them sitting on in the steamer?
Hi Hannah. We have them cake liner or parchment paper.
Are these freezable before steaming or after at all?
Hi Cho,
You can freeze them after steaming (cooked). You need to wrap them in plastic food wrap. Just make sure that you don’t have any portion of the buns exposed.
Thanks.
What temperature does oven need to be at for the dough to rest for 2 hr?
Hi Linda,
The oven should be at room temperature. In the winter time, we put the dough in the oven or any enclosed space since it’s usually a little bit warmer than the room. In the summer time, we just keep the dough outside in the kitchen to rest.
Thank you!