A fun twist to Chinese black sesame bao, 黑芝麻包 – these fluffy vegan steamed buns are filled with a smooth, sweet and aromatic black sesame paste.
Red bean paste is delicious and matcha cookies are fantastic, but have you ever tried a black sesame bao? Somehow, I feel like there are only a handful of black sesame desserts out there, which is quite a shame.
The filling I prefer in my vegan black sesame bao is similar in texture to red bean paste: smooth and rich. I used a mix of toasted black sesame seeds (you could also use powder, but the toasted seeds are more fragrant) and mung beans. Mung beans are commonly used not only in Malaysian desserts/pastries, but many other Asian cuisines as well.
The story behind this dragon fruit and black sesame combo
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always eaten fresh dragon fruit with black sesame powder. My mom served it to me that way when I was young, and the combo stuck with the whole family. Now I feel incomplete whenever I don’t have it topped on my dragon fruit. That was my inspiration for adding dragon fruit into the dough;
The bao doesn’t really taste like dragon fruit, but it adopts that pretty pink shade. I also love how the dragon fruit itself has tiny black seeds which sort of resemble black sesame seeds.
Keeping the pink colour
I had some problems while testing this recipe, due to the red pigment in dragon fruit: Betalain. pH levels, temperature and light cause colour degradation of the betalain pigment. In short – higher temperature means the pink colouring goes away. This is a problem because we want to keep that vibrant pink colour.
I found that after 8 minutes of steaming, the buns were lighter but still retained a pink colour. Any more than that, and the buns turn a permanent shade of yellow. Even in the photos here, you can see yellow spots start to form. So just keep in mind, not to steam the buns for too long.
I’ve baked dragon fruit buns before though, and the colour didn’t fade, which confuses me. That’s still something I want to explore more!
In the meantime, I’m happy with these guys. They remind me of my family’s perky traditions, which puts a smile on my face. I hope they do the same for you too 🙂
If you liked this recipe, here are more Chinese desserts to try:
- Hee Pan 喜粄 (Hakka Steamed Rice Cake)
- Red Bean Soup 红豆糖水
- Peanut Muah Chee 花生麻糍
- Fried Nian Gao Sweet Potato Yam Sandwich
If you made this recipe, do leave a comment and rating below because I love hearing your feedback. Make sure to tag me on Instagram @eatwkriss so that I can see your recreations!
Black Sesame Dragon Fruit Bao 黑芝麻包 (Vegan)
Ingredients
Black sesame paste
- 20 g mung beans
- 35 g black sesame seeds*
- 35 g icing sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 70 ml water
Bao dough
- 50 g dragon fruit
- ¾ tsp instant yeast
- 10 ml lukewarm water
- 100 g bao flour sub for low-gluten flour or cake flour
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- 15 g white granulated sugar
- ½ tbsp neutral oil
- ⅛ tsp salt
- all-purpose flour for dusting
Instructions
Prepare the black sesame paste
- Rinse and drain mung beans several times. Soak for at least 3 hours, or overnight. Steam for 15 minutes, until soft.
- Toast black sesame seeds in a pan until they start to crackle. Grind them to get a fine powder. Alternatively, you can blend it together with the other ingredients but it won't be as smooth.
- In a blender, combine steamed mung beans, black sesame powder, icing sugar, salt and water. Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to prevent the bottom from sticking. After 4-5 minutes, you should get a mouldable paste. When you fold the paste over itself, it should hold its shape.
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool before dividing and rolling into 5 balls, around 25g each.
Make the bao dough
- Combine instant yeast and water, mix well. Mash dragon fruit into a puree.
- In a medium bowl, add all the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Pour in the dragon fruit puree, yeast and oil. Mix together until a shaggy dough forms, then knead with your hands.
- Transfer to a floured work surface. With floured hands, knead the dough for a 2-3 minutes. Dust with flour whenever it starts to stick, but be careful not to add too much. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, then fold the ends towards the middle. Repeat 3-4 times (this helps you get a smoother dough).
- Roll the dough tightly into a log. Then divide the dough into 5 equal parts, around 38g each. Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out.
- Roll the dough into a circle, then fold the edges of the dough towards the middle. Use the edge of your palms to cinch the bottom, creating a round ball. Repeat with the other dough, and now you're ready to fill them.
Fill the bao
- Flatten each ball of dough into a small round with your palm, smooth side facing downwards. Then start to roll only the edges of the dough, rotating the round 45° after each roll. The edges should be thinner then the center.
- With the dough on your palm, place the black sesame paste in the center of the round. Gather the edges of the dough at the top and pinch to seal. Use the edge of your palms to cinch the bottom, creating a round ball.
- Place the bao on a piece of parchment paper and put directly in your steamer. Repeat until all buns are filled. Let rise for 40 minutes.
Steam the bao
- With the bao in the steamer, start with cold water and turn on the heat. Once the water starts to boil, steam the bao for 8 minutes. Wait for 5 minutes before opening the lid.
Notes
