Bao Wow! Take Two

In March, I blogged about heating up the bao (steamed buns) we had made a few months before. The bao are so good, and we were waiting for an opportunity to make them again. It's quite the process, so you need a lot of time. A lazy Saturday at home with no plans for the night was the perfect opportunity.

We followed the same Cooking Light recipe as before, and did everything the same--except for one important thing. instead of making up our own Chinese five-spice, we purchased a container of it from the Spice House (if you have not been to the Spice House, please go there. IMMEDIATELY. It's fantastic!). This mix is much better and more pungent than whatever we used last time.



And just like last time, everything turned out wonderfully. The pork mixture has such great flavor, and steaming the buns gives the breading a great texture. But, like I said, the whole process takes quite a while, so be prepared to carve out some time.



Here's the play-by-play of what we did:

Made the dough, and let it rise, covered with a towel, in the bathroom (it really warms up in the bathroom when the heating vent is open). Takes about an hour.


Meanwhile, make the filling--cook the pork on the stove and mix the rest of the ingredients (green onions, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and more).


When dough is ready, divide into 12 equal pieces and roll out each piece. Fill with 1/4 cup of filling.

Twist ends together so bao closes up.


Place in bamboo steamer (be sure to use parchment paper--we didn't the first itme, and they stuck REALLY bad). I took the picture after the baos had been in the steamer for a few minutes. They were already getting big!


Steam about 15 minutes--they'll get REALLY big!




And enjoy!
We stir fried some veggies (box choy, mushrooms and onions) to have on the side. The baos are great dipped in hoisin sauce. Next time, I'd like to try a different filling. I think tofu would be good, or ground chicken, pork or beef with some different sauces.