Steamed bao with red bean paste filling.

Long before small plates became all the rage in contemporary restaurants the Chinese were serving up a parade of pint size dishes for dim sum. While I have always been a big fan of dim sum it is rarely a vegan friendly affair, and since the one vegan restaurant that offered a dim sum menu has closed I thought I would try my hand at making a few of my favorites. Armed with several used dim sum cook books I set out adapt perhaps my favorite dish, bao (or buns). Bao (also spelled bau) are prepared both steamed and baked and filled with a wide range of fillings ranging from savory to sweet. The slightly sweet, yeasty dough steams to become a delicious, moist pillow encasing a jewel of filling inside This time around I elected to make both steamed in baked in a few classic flavors.

For the savory I decided on a tofu “char siu” filling, and a cabbage and mushroom filling. Char siu (Chinese BBQ pork) is among the most common fillings. Tofu filling a created was good, but I now need to experiment with making a seitan char siu as the marinated tofu was a little bland. The sauce, while tasty and traditional, was not the sort that I usually think of, which has more of a tomato base and yields something more akin to an American BBQ sauce, so I’ll have to experiment with other recipes.

For the sweet I went with the classic sweet red bean filling. I simply used a can from my local Asian grocer. You can of course make your own at home, but I went into this project a little last minute and didn’t have time to soak and cook beans.

These buns keep for a couple days well sealed in the fridge or will freeze well, so go nuts. You will probably want a bamboo steamer to make the steamed buns, but you can use a metal pot and steamer insert.

Steamed Bao Dough

A tier of cooked steamed bao. The cheese cloth supposadly keeps the buns from getting soggy. Given that cheese cloth is cheap and easy to find, I'm not risking a batch of buns to find out if it really matters.

Starter
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour (I used King Arthur unbleached cake flour)

Dough
1/2tsp salt
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the board.
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp vegetable shortening (not margarine)

To make the starter
Mix yeast, water, and sugar in a large bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cake flour and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until puffed and bubbly .

To make the dough
Add the salt and vinegar to the starter and stir to incorporate. In a seperate bowl sift together the 2 cups flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the starter and mix. When combined add the shortening and work it into the dough with your hands. Turn the dough onto a well floured board and knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth, adding flour as needed. Place the dough in a large lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm, draft free place for about 1 hour or until dabbled in bulk. Punch down the dough and proceed as below.

Steamed Bao

Makes 24 buns

1 batch steamed bao dough
1 recipe filling (recipes follow) or 1 cup prepared red bean paste.

Line steamer tiers or your steamer basket with a few layers of damp cheese cloth and cut 24 two inch squares of parchment.
Divide the dough into 24 pieces (if you want to be really accurate about having even buns use a scale to divide the dough. You don’t have to). Use your fingers to flatten a piece of do into a circle 2-3 inches in diameter, leaving it a little thicker in the center. Place the circle in your palm and spoon 1-2 tsp of filling onto the dough (start with a rounded tsp and adjust as necessary). Gather the edges of the dough and pinch together firmly to seal. Place pinch side up (you can place them pinch side down if your prefer a smoother appearance) on a piece of parchment and place on a prepared steamer tier. Repeat with remaining dough, placing buns about 1 inch apart. Stack the tiers (except the top) and cover loosely with plastic or a damp towel and allow to rise about 30 min.

Bring water in steamer to a boil and steam buns, one tier at a time, over high heat for 12 minutes. Add more water as necessary between batches. Serve hot. To reheat, steam until warmed or sprinkle with water and microwave, covered, for about a minute.

Baked Bao Dough

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup lukewarm water, devided
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup soy milk

Sift 2 cups flour, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the shortening until it resembles course meal.
In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of the water with the yeast and let sit 5 minutes. Combine remaining water and milk and heat in a sauce pan or microwave to abut 110°F. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the yeast milk mixture to flour mixture and stir well. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups flour and mix. Turn the dough onto a well floured board and knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth, adding flour as needed. Place the dough in a large lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm, draft free place for about 2 hour or until dabbled in bulk. Punch down the dough and proceed as below.

Baked bao with red bean filling. Other traditional sweet fillings include lotus nut, sweetened taro, black sesame, and custard.

Baked Bao

Makes 24 buns

1 batch baked bao dough
1 recipe filling (recipes follow) or 1 cup prepared red bean paste.
Vegan “egg wash”

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Divide the dough into 24 pieces (if you want to be really accurate about having even buns use a scale to divide the dough. You don’t have to). Use your fingers to flatten a piece of do into a circle 2-3 inches in diameter, leaving it a little thicker in the center. Place the circle in your palm and spoon 1-2 tsp of filling onto the dough (start with a rounded tsp and adjust as necessary). Gather the edges of the dough and pinch together firmly to seal. Place pinch side down on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing buns about 2 inches apart. Cover loosely with plastic or a damp towel and allow to rise about 30 min. Preheat oven to 350°. Brush buns with “egg wash”. Bake for 20-25 min until golden brown. When done the dough should be airy rather than raw looking inside. Transfer buns to a cooling rack to cool slightly before serving.

To reheat: thaw in fridge if frozen. Bake for 5-10 min until heated through.

Tofu Char Sui Filling

1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine or dry sherry
1 Tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
or vegetarian stir fry sauce
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce (make sure the one you use is vegan)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
10 ounces firm tofu, cut into 12 inch dice
1/2 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, drained and finely chopped.
1/2 cup onion, finely diced

In a small bowl stir together the water, soy sauce, wine, sugar, oyster sauce, hoisin, and sesame oil. Set aside.

Heat a small amount of oil in a wok or large skillet. Stir-Fry the onion until soft and translucent. Add the tofu and mushrooms and stir-fry until the tofu is lightly browned. Add sauce mixture and cook until bubbly. Add cornstarch slurry and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 1 min. Remove from hear and cool to room temperature before filling buns.

Mushroom Cabbage Filling

8 ounces napa cabbage, finely shredded (about 3 cups)
1 Tbsp salt
3 scallions (green and white parts) thinly sliced
2 tablespoons grated ginger
4 ounces firm tofu, mashed
1/2 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, drained, and finely chopped
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp rice wine or dry sherry
1/8 tsp ground pepper

In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the salt and let sit for 30 min, until wilted. Rinse and drain the cabbage then squeeze out as much water as possible. Mix with remaining ingredients.