Delicious Sticky Pork Bao Buns with Quick Pickled Carrots and Quick Pickled Cucumbers. Perfect as a snack or a tasty meal. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
Steamed Buns
If you have been following me on my Instagram Stories, you may have noticed that I like to make homemade steamed buns for dinner … quite often!
When my children start to complain that they are eating too much rice or too many noodles, I know that it is time to start changing things up a bit, and bao buns can be a good alternative for many Asian dishes.
Sticky Pork Bao Buns
I love to make Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu Pork) when we have visitors, but also sometimes for a comforting mid-week meal.
And for my take on David Chang’s pork belly buns (of Momufuku fame), I like to simply stuff the bao buns with slices of char siu pork, accompanied with some quick pickled cucumbers and carrots, and garnished with spring onions (scallions) and coriander (cilantro).
It’s sort of a short cut on a traditional Steamed Pork Bun (char siu bao), but with fresher ingredients and fresher flavours.
If you are making all of the components from scratch on the same day, you will need to be quite organised, but your friends and family will definitely be in for a treat!
But if you have a Chinatown nearby with ready access to shop-bought steamed buns and char siu pork, these Sticky Pork Bao Buns can be prepared within minutes.
How to Make Steamed Bao Buns
Most Asian grocers stock plain steamed bao buns in the freezer section, which means that you can be minutes away from a delicious meal at any time.
But if ready-made steamed buns are not available where you live, or you happen to love a spot of bread-making, I have an easy recipe for bao buns which you can make from scratch. The results are perfectly soft and fluffy bao buns – you might never buy them from the shops again!
Click here for my recipe for bao buns with step-by-step photos.
How to Make Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu Pork)
Like for the steamed buns, if you have close access to a Chinatown, you will probably also be able to buy char siu pork from a good Chinese takeaway.
But making your own char siu pork is actually quite easy, and whenever I make Chinese Barbecue Pork, I often make a double batch as the leftovers can be used in so many different ways. Any leftover char siu pork can be wrapped in foil and reheated in the oven.
Click here for my recipe for char siu pork with step-by-step photos.
How to Make Quick Pickled Carrots
Asian cuisine is often about balancing flavours, namely sweet, salty and sour elements.
Pickled carrots are commonly used in Vietnamese cuisine to add a sour element and to balance any salty flavours. They also add a nice crunchy texture.
You will often find pickled carrots served in a Vietnamese Banh Mi, or even as a substantial garnish to Vietnamese Grilled Pork Chops.
A traditional pickling liquid requires at least overnight to work its magic, but when time is short, I like to make Quick Pickled Carrots. For this, I find a 2:1 ratio of vinegar to sugar just right for my tastes, but you can adjust the ratio to your own liking.
The carrots should be cut into thin matchsticks (or “julienned”), and this is easiest done using either a mandoline slicer or with a julienne peeler.
How to Make Quick Picked Cucumbers
Similar to the Quick Pickled Carrots, I also like to use a 2:1 ratio of vinegar to sugar, but you can adjust the quantities to your liking.
Quick Pickled Cucumbers add a nice crunch and sourness to the soft bao buns.
If you are really pushed for time, you could skip the pickling altogether – my children love fresh cucumbers and I serve a generous quantity for them to munch on alongside the bao buns.
More Asian Recipes
If you are looking for more Asian recipes, you might also like:
Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu Pork)
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Sticky Pork Bao Buns
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3 to 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Chinese
Delicious Sticky Pork Bao Buns with Quick Pickled Carrots and Quick Pickled Cucumbers. Perfect as a snack or a tasty meal.
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RateIngredients
For the Quick Pickled Cucumber
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 large cucumber, finely sliced
For the Quick Pickled Carrots
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 large carrots, julienned
For the Spicy Hoisin Sauce
- 8 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 4 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
To Serve
- 12 plain bao buns (ready-made or frozen, or see my recipe for Steamed Bao Buns)
- 500 g (1 lb) Chinese barbecue pork or char siu pork (shop-bought, or see my recipe for Chinese Barbecue Pork)
- spring onions (scallions), cut into short lengths
- coriander (cilantro), cut into short lengths or finely chopped
- Pickled Chillies
Instructions
For the Quick Pickled Cucumber
- Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a bowl.
- Finely slice the cucumber, either using a sharp knife or a mandoline slicer.
- Mix the cucumber through the pickling liquid.
- Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
- Just before serving, drain the pickling liquid and gently squeeze the cucumbers to release any excess liquid.
For the Quick Pickled Carrots
- Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a bowl.
- Julienne the carrots, either using a sharp knife, mandoline slicer or julienne peeler.
- Mix the carrots through the pickling liquid.
- Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
- Just before serving, drain the pickling liquid and gently squeeze the carrots to release any excess liquid.
For the Spicy Hoisin Sauce
- In a small saucepan, mix the hoisin sauce and Sriracha sauce together.
- Heat gently over medium heat until it has warmed through.
- Serve the sauce warm.
For the Steamed Bao Buns
- To make your own homemade Steamed Bao Buns, please see my recipe for bao buns with step-by-step photos.
- The bao buns need 10-12 minutes to steam, so I recommend steaming the bao buns (homemade or frozen) just before serving.
- Allow about 3 buns per person as a main meal.
For the Chinese Barbecue Pork
- The pork should be served warm, so reheat the pork as necessary. I generally wrap the work in foil and reheat in a hot oven.
- Thinly slice the pork, allowing about 3-5 slices per bun.
To Assemble the Spicy Pork Bao Buns
- Split open the freshly steamed bao buns.
- Spread both sides of the bun with the Spicy Hoisin Sauce.
- Layer some slices of Chinese Barbecue Pork inside the bun.
- Top with some slices of Quick Pickled Cucumbers and some Quick Pickled Carrots.
- Garnish with spring onions (scallions), coriander (cilantro) and Pickled Chillies (optional).
- Serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes
CONVERSIONS To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
#eatlittlebird
This recipe is absolutely mouthwatering! I need to try! Everything is great: the bao, the pork, the salads!
I hope you will enjoy these pork bao buns!
Great recipe! I made this using frozen bao buns and char siu pork from Chinatown, but I can’t wait to try your recipe to make them both from scratch! The sauce was spot on, as were the pickled vegetables. I had never pickled carrots and cucumbers before but it was so easy! Definitely making again.
★★★★★
Hi Madeleine,
Great to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
Amazing recipe! I made everything the same day which was a bit of work but everything turned out perfectly. The effort was totally worth it.
★★★★★
I cheated and bought frozen bao buns, but I made everything else, including the char siu pork. Everything tasted amazing together, especially the sauce and the pickled cucumbers. Ok, next time, I will definitely try to make the bao buns too!
★★★★★
Absolutely delicious! I made your bao bun recipe but bought the char siu pork from our favorite Chinese restaurant. Everything was just amazing together, especially the pickled cucumbers. Just yum!!
★★★★★
Fantastic recipe! I always make the char siu pork from scratch using your recipe, and I’ve served them with both homemade and shop bought bao buns. It’s always a delicious meal.
★★★★★
I’ve made this recipe many times now as my friends really love it. But I always used frozen bao buns until I tried yesterday to make them from scratch. Never going back to the frozen ones again! Had no idea how tasteless the frozen ones were?? Your recipe and instructions were fantastic.
★★★★★
Amazing recipe! Very delicious!
★★★★★
Amazing recipe, so delicious!
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We buy the bao buns but make everything else in this recipe from scratch. My family can’t get enough of this dish! One day, I will get around to making the bao buns too.
★★★★★
One of my favorite recipes to make when my friends come over.
★★★★★
Great recipe! I add extra Sriracha on top for some more spice.
★★★★★