Vegan vegetable bao – Fluffy buns filled with a peppery, umami vegetable mushroom filling. Freshly steamed bao is perfect on a chilly day.
As mentioned in my Vegan Char Siu Bao blog post, bao was my go-to lunch for school. I would pack one char siu bao and one cai bao (vegetable bao). Vegetable bao is a very vague name, there’s space to experiment with different ingredients. However, the cai bao I’m familiar with has a peppery, almost spicy sengkuang (jicama) and carrot filling. It’s so good, and the dried shrimp really elevated the whole thing.
Yeah, vegetable bao isn’t actually vegan because of the dried shrimp. But I found that dried shiitake mushrooms are a good substitute for that!
Notes
- Use bao flour or low-gluten flour like cake flour. If you use all-purpose flour instead of bao flour, the bao will also turn out yellow.
- When steaming the bao, start with room temperature water first. This gives the bao more time to rise in the steamer as the water heats up.
- Do not open the lid while steaming.
- After steaming, turn off the heat and leave the lid on for 5 minutes before opening the lid and removing the bao. The sudden temperature drop will cause the bao to sink in and deform.
- Season the filling generously. Remember that the filling will be eaten together with the bun so it should be on the saltier side.
- Save the mushroom soaking water and use it in your cooking.
If you liked this recipe, here are more bao recipes to try:
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!
Vegetable Bao 菜包 (Vegan)
Vegan vegetable bao – Fluffy buns filled with a peppery, umami vegetable filling. Freshly steamed bao is perfect on a chilly day.
Ingredients
Bao dough
- 100 ml lukewarm water
- 1½ tsp instant yeast
- 50 g white granulated sugar
- 200 g bao flour sub for low-gluten flour or cake flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tbsp neutral oil
- all-purpose flour for dusting
Vegetable filling
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 shallots diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 100 g jicama (sengkuang) thinly sliced
- 50 g carrot thinly sliced
- 1½ tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp white pepper
Instructions
- Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Prepare your vegetables. Slice the mushrooms and keep the soaking water for later.
Make the bao dough
- In a measuring cup, combine warm water, yeast and sugar. Let sit for a few minutes until foamy.
- In a medium bowl, sift in all the dry ingredients and stir with a pair of chopsticks until well combined. Pour in the yeast mixture and oil, then mix together until a shaggy dough forms.
- Transfer to a floured work surface. With floured hands, knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. Dust with flour whenever it starts to stick, but be careful not to add too much. You should get a dough that is soft, no longer sticky and springs back when you poke it.
- Shape into a ball and cover with the same bowl. Let rest for 15 minutes.
Cook the filling
- In a pan over medium heat, fry the shallots and garlic with some oil until fragrant. Add in the mushrooms, cook for 1 minute. Add in the vegetables, mushroom water and soy sauce. Cook for around 5 minutes, adding water as needed. Season with white pepper. until the vegetables have softened. Add water as needed, then season with white pepper.
- The filling shouldn't be too wet, and the vegetables should be soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Fill the bao
- Transfer the rested dough on to a floured working surface.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle with a rolling pin. Starting from the longest side, roll the dough tightly into a log.
- Divide the dough into 9 equal parts, 37-40g each. Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Rest for 10 minutes.
- Flatten a ball of dough into a small round with your palm. 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 in one palm, place a heaping tbsp of filling in the center of the round. Pack it down tightly, then gather the edges of the dough together. Pinch to seal.
- Place the bao upside down on a square of parchment paper, so that the smooth side faces upwards. Repeat with the remaining dough, then arrange them in your steaming set up.Let rise for 20 minutes.
- Optional: Dip a round item into some green food colouring, and mark the bao with a green dot.
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 12 minutes. Then turn off the heat and keep the lid on. Let the bao rest for 5 minutes before opening the lid.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- Use bao flour or low-gluten flour like cake flour. If you use all-purpose flour instead of bao flour, the bao will also turn out yellow.
- When steaming the bao, start with room temperature water first. This gives the bao more time to rise in the steamer as the water heats up.
- Do not open the lid while steaming.
- After steaming, turn off the heat and leave the lid on for 5 minutes before opening the lid and removing the bao. The sudden temperature drop will cause the bao to sink in and deform.
- Season the filling generously. Remember that the filling will be eaten together with the bun so it should be on the saltier side.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!