How To Make Vietnamese Buns
Make authentic Vietnamese buns from scratch with this recipe. The soft buns are loaded with a sweet and sticky pork filling.
Ingredients
For Steamed Buns:
- 3¾ cup plain all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp instant dried yeast
- 3 tbsp whole milk
- ¾ cup warm water, plus 2 tbsp
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, very soft
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For Sticky Pork Belly:
- 2⅕ lb rindless pork belly, slices, chopped in half, (each piece being approx. the length of an index finger)
- 4¼ cups hot chicken stock, or veg stock
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled, chopped in half
- 1 tbsp rice wine
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
For Pork Belly Glaze:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp lemon grass paste
For Toppings:
- 1 bunch coriander, small, roughly torn
- 2 red chillies, sliced into thin strips
- 4 spring onions, sliced into thin strips
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp cashew nuts, toasted, chopped
Instructions
- Place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl and mix together.
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Add the milk, warm water and butter to a jug and stir together until the butter melts. Stir the liquid mixture into the flour mixture at first with a spoon, and then with hands.
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Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Alternatively, do this in a mixer fitted with a dough hook.
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Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm or a damp tea towed and leave to proof for up to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
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Meanwhile, start on the pork belly. Add all the slow cooked pork belly ingredients to a pan. Bring to the boil, then place a lid on, turn down the heat and simmer for 2 hours. Then turn off the heat and drain the pork.
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After the dough has proved, tip it out of the bowl onto a floured surface. Knead the dough again and split into 10 balls.
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Place a piece of baking parchment on the work surface and roll each ball into an oval on top of the parchment, using a rolling pin.
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Brush the ovals with the olive oil and fold each oval over, using a chopstick in the middle to fold over to leave a little space in the fold. Remove the chopstick.
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Prepare 2 oven trays by lining each with a piece of baking parchment. Place the buns on the trays. Cover each tray with clingfilm or a carrier bag and leave to proof for a further hour, until puffed up.
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Put a large steamer pan on to boil. Working in batches, place the buns in the steamer, and steam for 15 minutes.
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Whilst the bao buns are steaming, continue to cook the pork belly. Chop the pork into bite sized chunks. Add 1 tablespoon of of the oil to a frying pan, and then mix the remaining glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
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Heat the oil and add in the pork, salt and pepper, frying on a high heat until the pork starts to turn golden. Now pour the glaze over the pork and continue to cook until the pork looks dark and sticky. Turn off the heat and transfer to a warm bowl until you're ready to assemble the gua bao.
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Once the buns are cooked, open them up and stuff them with sticky pork belly, coriander (cilantro), slices of red chillies, and strips of spring onions. Sprinkle on sesame seeds and chopped cashews.
Nutrition
- Sugar: 10g
- :
- Calcium: 38mg
- Calories: 281kcal
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Cholesterol: 10mg
- Fat: 7g
- Fiber: 2g
- Iron: 3mg
- Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
- Potassium: 126mg
- Protein: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Sodium: 123mg
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Vitamin A: 215IU
- Vitamin C: 8mg
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