Delicious Dim Sum meal led to Homemade Mushroom Bao Buns
My journey with Mushroom Bao Buns begins a few years back when I visited my local Dim Sum shop for the first time. I was amazed by the variety, speed, and price of the whole operation. What fascinated me the most was that a large majority of the offerings were cooked using steam. I discovered that steaming was incredibly common to many Chinese and North African dishes. Contrast this to the US where I grew up associated steamed food with bland broccoli.
Cooking with steam is super efficient. For example, in this video, they mention that one chef can produce around 30 dishes at the same time. Speed and ease of preparation leads to lower prices. It all makes sense.
After a few visits to this restaurant sparked an internal question that lingered in my mind. Could I do this at home? I did not have experience cooking with steam. What is the worst that could happen? This led me down the path of a lot of research that culminated in the creation of this recipe pulled from a variety of sources on how to cook with steam. My first recipe would be a simple Bao recipe using mushrooms. I would make the buns from scratch for an extra challenge!
The Buns.
The buns in this recipe use a simple enriched and yeasted dough. I had a lot of fun working with this dough as it is made super supple with the small bit of oil in the mixture. These bao buns are super light and fluff and are a perfect pairing to many savory and sweet fillings. Many restaurants create their own variations. A few variants that I have had included brisket, chicken teriyaki, and my favorite so far, pork belly. The possibilities are truly endless. I found that there are numerous varieties of steamed buns in Chinese cooking, far beyond the scope of this recipe.
The Filling.
Next item to consider is the filling. For this recipe the filling will depart from the meaty options mentioned above and will focus on a mushroom based vegetarian filling. I have recently been in love with asian inspired mushroom recipes (find my mushroom wonton soup here) and this recipe is an expression of that feeling. You can use any variety of mushroom you like for this recipe. I used Cremini mushrooms in this recipe as they are what was on hand. I believe that Shiitake mushrooms would be a great option. Any mushroom that can stand up to steam and retain its meaty texture is a great option. There are plenty of commonly available mushroom varieties to choose from. Also, if you are a fan of mushrooms be sure to try out my Mushroom Wonton Soup recipe!
The Toppings.
The final component to consider are the toppings. For many bao recipes the recommended toppings (which I typically abide by) are carrots, cucumber, and scallions, cut into matchsticks. Next, drizzle some hoisin sauce and you’re in business. I like to add some homemade chili crisp oil for a spicy kick. Recipe for chili crisp oil to come in the future. Feel free to change toppings as you see fit! However, in my opinions, carrots and cucumbers are fairly neutral and provide a fresh and crunchy aspect which nicely offsets the tender buns and filling.
Final Taste Verdict
The buns hold up well enough on their own, soft slightly sweet and fluffy pillows of dough. Furthermore, these Bao buns are made even better when accompanied with a savory filling and crunchy topping. What is not to love? These mushroom bao buns got high marks in my home and we will be making these again as we are always looking for new and interesting vegetable forward or vegetarian dishes.
I do hope you try out these steamed mushroom bao buns. In my experience, steaming is such a fun technique to use once you get the hang of it. I hope you too can become inspired to take steaming beyond the broccoli!
Mushroom Bao Buns
Equipment
- Medium mixing bowl
- Stand mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment paper
- Steamer basket
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Medium mixing bowl
- Steamer basket
- Large Pot
Ingredients
Bao Bun Dough
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup warm milk
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 4 tbsp sugar divided half
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Mushroom Filling
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp Mirin sweetened japanese rice wine
- 1 garlic clove
- 8 oz mushrooms stems removed and diced
Toppings
- Carrot cut into thin strips
- Cucumber cut into thin strips
- Scallion cut into thin strips
- Hoisin Sauce
- Chili Oil
Instructions
Bao Buns
- Mix water, yeast, sugar, milk, and oil and let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly.
- In a stand mixer with a dough hook add in flour, baking powder and salt and then mix in yeasty liquid. Mix on medium-high for 5 minutes until dough comes together.
- Cover dough in bowl and let dough proof for 2 hours until double in size
- Cut parchment paper to fit into a steamer to prepare for the next step.
- Once risen, take the dough and put onto your work surface. Roll the dough to 1/4 in thick.
- Use a glass or a circular ring with about a 3 inch diameter to cut dough. This recipe makes about 16 buns.
- Lightly brush the surface with oil and fold each bao in half into a semi-circle and lightly press with a rolling pin.
- Place each bao into the steamer with about 1/2 an inch of space between them, cover and let rise for another 30 minutes until puffy.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and place your steamer basket over the pot. Steam your buns, covered, for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the pot and remove the lid for 1-2 minute before eating. These buns can be eaten as is or used in a bao sandwich.
Mushroom Bao Mixture and Assembly
- Chop all ingredients for the recipe including the mushrooms and the topping strips.
- Mix together marinade of soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, mirin and a garlic clove.
- Add chopped mushrooms into marinade and let soak for 1 hour at room temperature.
- Bring a pot of water with a steamer basket to a boil.
- Steam the mushroom mixture in your steamer basket for 10-15 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
- Serve mushroom mixture in bao buns. Top with carrot, cucumber, and scallion and dip into Hoisin Sauce and if you desire a bit of spice, chili oil.