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.

An easy burger for a lazy summer day. Served with a little wild mushroom couscous.

I love smoked foods all the time, but nothing inspires one to cook outdoors like weather topping 100 degrees.  So when we hit an all time record high temperature in Seattle this summer I ran out and got myself a new grill in hopes of avoiding doing any cooking indoors.  While almost any vegetable works well on the grill simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, I decided to go a little further and smoke my own tofu along with some slabs of eggplant for a tasty home made burger that beats any store bought patty. Vegan hamburger buns can be hard to come by (I use Rudy’s Organic, which are becoming more and more available). If you can’ get a hold of any use any good roll or bread you can find. This would be great on a nice ciabatta or a fresh Kaiser roll.  The leftover tofu and eggplant make a great cold sandwich as well.

Marinade:

2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp soy sauce (I used a mushroom soy sauce)
3 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp mustard

1 packager extra firm tofu (super firm is best if you can find it), drained and cut into 6-8 slices.
eggplant, cut into ½ in-1 in slices
salt
pepper
olive oil
buns, rolls, or bread
Vegan mayo
2-4 cups smoking chips (I used hickory), soaked in water for at least 30 min

While your chips are soaking mix the ingredients for the marinade and combine with tofu in a large plastic bag. Let sit in the fridge until you are ready to put it on the grill, turning occasionally.  You can also prepare the marinade in advance and marinade the tofu overnight.

To prepare the eggplant, place the slices in a colander in the sink or over a large bowl and salt liberally. Let sit for at least 10 min. The eggplant should release much of its liquid. Rinse lightly, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Start your grill. Drain the woodchips and place them in a metal container such as an old soup can or a package of aluminum foil. When your coals are ready, build your fire as far to one side of the grill as possible and place your container of chips on top of the Coles. If your chips dry out and start to flame up during cooking, spray with a squirt bottle filled with water or just poor a little water into the container.

Brush grill with oil and place tofu on the side farthest from the coals. Cover your grill and smoke for about 20 min. before adding the eggplant to the grill. Flip the tofu and brush with leftover marinade when you add the eggplant.

Smoke for another 20 min.  Check the eggplant occasionally to make sure it is not burning or overcooked (this will depend on how hot your grill is).  After smoking I finished cooking over the hot side of the grill to get some good grill marks and a little char on the edges. If the eggplant is already fully cooked, just remove it from the grill. You want the eggplant to hold together enough to come off the grill, but soft enough that it will melt into the sandwich.

Watch for flame ups. Keep food out of direct flame as it will quickly charr.

To assemble

Cut your buns and toast lightly on the grill. Spread each side of the bun with mayo. Place a slice of eggplant on the bun, followed by 2 slices of tofu and another slice of eggplant. Top with the other half of the bun and enjoy!

Variations

You can add a little red chili or some of your favorite hot sauce to the marinade if you want something a little bolder, or you can marinade in your favorite BBQ sauce or marinade.

Add pretty much whatever you want to the burger. Caramelized onions, tomato, and some arugula would be tops on my list of additions.