Equipment:

Rolling pin, steamer, Large bowl, Grease proof paper, oven/ hob for filling

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Time:

 

Bun prep: 4 hours (3 hours proving, 1-hour hands on)

Filling prep: 8 hours for pulled pork…. 20 minutes for diced beef stew

 

Ingredients:

Bun: 550g plain flour, 1 ½ tablespoon sugar, 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast, 50ml milk, 1 table spoon baking powder

Filling: Pork, Hoisin sauce, can of cider, gravy or beef, gravy and spices for fast option or mushroom, potato, veg soup and spices if you don’t eat meat.

Calories:

Depends on filling, 96 for bun alone, 200 for pulled pork in Hoisin, 150 for diced beef/ veg in gravy.

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Back in March a trip through China town brought me a delicious find; pork encased in fluffy clouds. The dough melted away in a puff of steam to reveal a chamber of sweet meats inside. I looped back through the district five more times that day to eat the woman's entire supply and when I got home, I immediately rang for a takeaway. This was a new addiction.

How had I not had these before?

Sure, I’d seen them in Anime, Studio Ghibli draws them very well, but I’d never actually been to a restaurant and given one a poke in real life. That’ll be because they don't exist in real life, only in London. Or at least, they haven't made their way to Devon yet.

Lucky for me, it was easy and simple enough to make my own! And for all you bun chums, food fiends and fans of Oriental cuisine, here's how I did it.

All you need is:

1. Steamer

Available on Amazon for under £20, you can place a decent bamboo steamer in a wok or large saucepan of boiling water and prepare all sorts of dishes: vegetable, rice, meats. And you can’t get the fluffy texture without one- just like real clouds, Bao buns are 80% condensation.

  2.Filling (pork, beef or mushroom/ veg work well)

Pulled pork was the best experiment, though finely chopped beef or chicken works in a pinch is you don’t have the requisite 7 hours to slow cook a meat joint. Mushrooms, spring onions, or pickled cabbage can be added at diner discretion.

  3.The dough ingredients:

Plain flour

Yeast

Milk

Caster sugar

Baking powder

Olive oil

 

Preparation: Set in 3 stages-

The filling:

Pulled pork choice. ( If beef or veg tickled your fancy more, skip straight to them.) 7-8 hours

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Mix up a special blend of juices-

1 tablespoon gravy

Healthy dollop of Hoisin sauce

A can of cider

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Place the pork loin in a Pyrex cooking dish, pour the mixture over it and cover it in foil. Leave for 7-8 hours on a medium heat.

You wouldn’t neglect your baby in the bath, so don’t leave your pork shoulder to stew in it’s own juices alone. Check on it every hour or so and give it a splash just to keep it moist and happy.

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As for the cider, recovering alcoholics skip this ingredient, its non-essential, but does add a crisp  zest that brings out the plums in the Hoisin. Purely a matter of taste.

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5-6 hours later, you are ready to begin bun prep.

 

Beef choice- 20 mins

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If you do not have 7 hours to dedicate to a pork loin, you don’t eat meat, or you simply don’t want the oven on all day, buy 500 grams of beef steak instead. ( This should be under a fiver at most butchers and you’ll likely have some left.)

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Cut it into small 1cm cubes- the ideal filling is finely chopped- like a Greggs steak slice, you don’t want to bite into the bun and have to gnaw your way through a cow leg too, you want it pre-diced and delectable. Easy bites.

Next, pop this in a frying pan with a toot of fry lite and fry for 10 minutes ( or more, if you like your steak cremated)

For the juice, add 3 cubes of gravy to ¼ jug of gravy and stir till thick, adding an extra cube or water as necessary. Toss in your favourite spices, then toss in your steak chunks. You are now ready to move onto bun prep!

(As you steam the buns later, you will have to reheat the filling in a saucepan. Pop this in the fridge and save it. )

 

Veggie:

Chop up and fry your mushrooms and potatoes. Then create your juice concoction.

Grab any tinned soup, tomato and basil or broccoli and stilton are particularly good for their strong flavour and rich texture. Next add chosen spices and throw the veg in. This will need reheating before you steam the buns, because the buns… by gum, the buns won’t be ready for steaming yet… 

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The Bun:

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Mix 1 table spoon of fast acting yeast, one table spoon of warm water and a pinch of sugar in a bowl. The sugar gives the yeast something to feed off. After a few minutes the liquid should start to produce tiny bubbles. Your yeast has awoken.

Add to this 500g plain flour, 1½ table spoon of caster sugar and mix it by hand. When this is all an even concoction, pour in 50ml milk, 1 tbsp sunflower oil, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and 200ml water. Mix into a dough, adding a little extra water if needed.

Sprinkle some dust on a clean work surface where you can knead the dough until smooth- this should take around 10-15 mins max.

Over kneading will result in a dense bun, and no one wants that, so try to fold the dough rather than pummel it; you’re lovers, not fighters in this case.

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This is the bit that takes the time- put it back in it’s bowl with a damp cloth over the top to let it double in size. The maximise the rise, stick it somewhere warm like the airing cupboard or under the cat. Though don’t fret, the yeast will do its bit at room temperature too.

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2 hours later

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Check on the pork. A gentle poke with your fork should loosen the meat and it will simply fall away in succulent shafts. It’s ready.

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Put this in a separate bowl, mix with more Hoisin sauce or chosen spices.

Reapply flour to the work surface and knead your dough for five minutes.

Tear off small tangerine sized pieces. You should have around 15.

Roll the dough into a thin sheet- around 3cm thick.

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Although you want the dough to hold its contents without tearing, you don’t want it to be too thick- that’s the equivalent of going to a nice restaurant only to fill up on bread. The bun is a vessel, not the main draw.

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Lay these out on grease proof paper (their own individual doilies make it much easier, so get the scissors out) and spoon in the filling.

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Same logic applies- you don’t want any ruptures, so keep a safe 3cm distance around the edge and resist the urge to pile them too high. Here you will fold the dough up “dumpling style” to make a neat package. Like changing a nappy, it takes a few goes, but the dough has some natural stretch, so it’s rather forgiving.

Steaming:

Boil a kettle, add that to your wok or sauce pan and turn on the hob. Place the steamer on top so the condensation rises through it, and place your buns inside. (Best not pile them on top of each other, or you will have a claggy mess. You may need to steam in batches, but each one takes less than 10 minutes, so that’s no great hardship.)

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Enjoy!

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You’ve waited 7 hours for your taste of China town, now find a suitable side garnish and enjoy!

One or two buns go great as a side with noodles or fish. Otherwise the buns themselves are enough, with a small side salad (or clean out the wok and whip a stir fry.)

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Calories:

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There are around 96 calories in the typical bun so the calorific content really depends on your filling.

Hoisin sauce is basically sugar, so perhaps not great every day.

Tinned soup and spices make for a leaner equivalent and plenty of choice. Mix and match low calorie soups like tomato and basil with chilli flakes or turmeric and suddenly each bun is less than 150 cal.