Crispy Pan-Fried Pork Buns
Serves: 20 buns
Pan-fried Pork Buns with a soft and fluffy bao bun wrapping, and a golden and crispy bottom! Make these delicious Shanghai bao buns at home with this step-by-step recipe.
Ingredients
For the Bao Bun Dough
- 1 quantity Steamed Bao Bun dough
For the Pork Filling
- 400 g (14 oz) minced pork, (ground pork)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon MSG, or chicken stock cube powder, optional
- ½ teaspoon white pepper, freshly cracked
- 2 tablespoons ginger, grated
- 1 bok choy, finely chopped
- 1 large handful coriander, (cilantro) finely chopped
- 1 large handful spring onions, (scallions) finely chopped
To Serve
- vegetable oil
- spring onions, (scallions) or chives, finely chopped for garnish
- soy sauce
- chilli oil
Instructions
To Make the Bao Bun Dough
- Make the Bao Bun dough as per my recipe for Steamed Bao Buns with step-by-step photos.
To Make the Pork Filling
- Place all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
- Using chopsticks, mix everything together in a clockwise direction until everything is well combined and the mixture looks like a paste.
To Prepare the Bao Bun Dough
- Once the dough has doubled in size, remove the dough gently to the kitchen counter.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large rectangle.
- Roll the dough into a long cylinder.
- Divide the dough into 20 pieces.
To Shape the Pork Buns
- Line a large sheet pan with baking paper.
- Take a piece of dough and use a small rolling pin to roll it into a circle measuring approximately 10 cm/4 inches in diameter. If possible, try to roll it so that the edges are thinner than the centre.
- Place 2 tablespoons of filling into the centre.
- Pleat the edges of the dough together and seal the buns.
- Place the buns onto the lined sheet pan.
- Repeat the above steps with the remaining pieces of dough and filling.
To Proof the Pork Buns
- Place the pork buns somewhere warm for about 30 minutes, or until they have puffed up slightly.
To Cook the Pork Buns
- Steam the pork buns for 10 minutes, either in a bamboo steamer over a pot of simmering water, or in a steam oven at 100°C/210°F.
- Heat some vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Place the buns into the pan with the pleat-side up.
- Cook until the bottom of the buns are nicely golden.
- Serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes
- DIFFERENT TYPES OF YEAST
Please note that there is a difference between instant yeast (also called instant dried yeast or fast-action dried yeast) and dried yeast (also called active dry yeast). If you are not sure what type of yeast you have, please check the packaging for instructions on how to use the yeast.
* With instant yeast, you can add it directly to the flour mixture without having to activate it first.
* With dried yeast, you will need to activate it first (usually in some warm liquid). - WHAT TYPE OF FLOUR TO USE
* Plain flour (all-purpose flour) works well in this recipe as the cornflour (US: cornstarch) helps to give the buns a light and fluffy texture. However, the resulting buns will be a pale yellow in colour.
* For snowy white buns like those sold in Chinese restaurants, you can use bleached flour found in Asian grocery stores. - HOW TO STEAM BAO BUNS
* The steamer basket (whether bamboo or otherwise) should sit directly on top of a saucepan of the same dimension.
* Fill the saucepan with boiling water until about one-third full.
* Place the steamer basket on top of the saucepan.
* Place the bao buns in the steamer basket, leaving a bit of room for each to rise and puff up during cooking.
* Place the lid on top of the steamer basket.
* Steam over low-medium heat for 10 minutes. - HOW TO MAKE BAO BUNS WITH A STEAM OVEN
* First Proof: Cover the bowl with some cling film or a re-usable bowl cover. Proof the dough in the steam oven/combi-steam oven at 40°C/104°F for about 1.5 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
* Second Proof: Once you have shaped the bao buns, place them onto a large tray (lined with baking paper) that will fit inside your steam oven/combi-steam oven. For my steam oven, I can fit a large sheet pan, which will comfortably fit 12 bao buns. There is no need to cover the buns. Proof the shaped bao buns at 40°C/104°F for about 30 minutes, or until the buns have puffed up slightly.
* Steaming the Bao Buns: Remove the tray of bao buns from the steam oven/combi-steam oven. Increase the temperature to 100°C/212°F. Once the steam oven/combi-steam oven has come to temperature, place the tray of bao buns back inside and steam them for 10 minutes. - HOW TO FREEZE BAO BUNS
Any leftover steamed buns can be frozen in zip-lock bags for 1-2 months. Reheat the frozen steamed buns in a steamer or steam oven for about 10 minutes, or until they are warmed all the way through. - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer's handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.