9 Best Baozi Recipes [Chinese Steamed Bun Ideas] (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between steamed bun and bao bun? ›

Bao Buns (pronounced “bow”), but also known as a 'steamed buns' or 'baozi' 包子, are a delicious, warm, fluffy treat of stuffing wrapped inside a sweet, white dough. Made with a mix of flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil, the bao is a tad sweeter than its closely related cousin, the dumpling.

Bao or Baozi are a type of steamed, filled buns. they can be filled with meat or veggie filling and eaten just like that!

Any rush of cool air could potentially make the buns collapse. If you're making fluffy yeasted buns, let the buns sit covered in the steamer for an extra 5 minutes after the heat has been turned off. This resting time is crucial. If you open the lid too quickly, the cool air from outside might deflate the buns.

Mantou (traditional Chinese: 饅頭; simplified Chinese: 馒头), often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name mantou to a tale about Zhuge Liang.

A standard steamed bao typically contains about 200-250 calories, positioning it as a moderate-calorie food option. Additionally, bao serves as a source of protein and dietary fiber, particularly when made with whole grain flours or filled with vegetables or lean meats.

Ok, so let's examine what is commonly being referred to as the “bao bun”. The actual name for these types of buns with filling is gua bao, 割包 (or 刈包 in slang, taken from Japanese kanji), literally “cut bread”. The white bun itself is called a lotus leaf bun, 荷葉包, due to its shape.

Steamed buns made with raised flour are seen throughout China and are what is usually referred to as mantou. Steamed xiaolongbao made with partially raised flour are more commonly seen in the south. This means that their skin is tender, smoother, and somewhat translucent, rather than being white and fluffy.

When it comes to the dip, hoisin sauce, sweet chilli or a simple soy sauce with sesame oil make great pairings. We love to eat bao alongside some bouncy or zingy veggies. For zingy veg, we suggest some quick pickled cucumber.

A lotus seed bun is a Chinese sweet bun found in China. They are prepared by steaming a yeast-leavened dough that contains lotus seed paste. It can be classified as a dim sum, though not exclusively so.

or bao is a filled bun that you can find in China. They have many different fillings as well as preparations, and they can be meat or vegetarian. Baozi are also known as 'steamed buns' because they're most often cooked in a steamer. Like dumplings, baozi are made from flour.

Do you put raw meat in bao? ›

Traditionally, pork is used as the filling, but beef, chicken or even shrimp may be used. I used chicken here cooked with some onions, ginger and peppers with some soy sauce and vinegar. Many recipes I found online actually tell you to use raw meat for the filling and cook it as the buns are steamed.

White Vinegar — A tablespoon of vinegar is added to the water in the steamer basin. The acidity helps to get the baos white. A large steamer basket — Can't have steamed buns without a steamer.

Ingredients. Plain flour. You can use bleached bao flour if you can find it in an Asian supermarket – this will give your bao that classic bright white look. Plain flour is much easier to find so it's what I use.

Mántóu (馒头), also known as Mó (馍), refers to plain steamed buns which originated from China. They are usually made of white wheat flour, but other ingredients, such as corn flour, sweet potato, pumpkin, are sometimes added to the dough. As a popular staple, Mantou has a firm position on Chinese families' dinner table.

To Summarize. In summary, bao buns are made from fermented yeast dough, while dumplings are only made from wheat flour without the yeast. Since bao dough contains yeast, it needs more time to rise and results in thinner skin than dumplings. In terms of cooking, baos are usually steamed, baked, and sometimes pan-fried.

Unlike pork buns, steamed bao are pillowy, enclosed buns that can include far more than pork alone. However, you will not find similar garnishes inside or on top of bao. In addition to the filling, how bao is prepared and even the dough itself for the filled bun differs from pork buns.

Bao means "bun", so the name bao bun is redundant, and bao in the Chinese language without any qualifiers is generally used to refer to baozi.

Bao or Baozi are said to have been invented in China during the 3rd century by a military strategist called Zhuge Liang [181-234]. They were first named Mantou but over time they began to be referred to as baozi or bao meaning to wrap in Mandarin.