Easy Homemade Cheat Bao Bun Recipe

About This Cheat Bao Bun Recipe

Steamed buns have always been a labour of love. But a long labour. They take around 4 hours to make due to the proving time of the dough. A classic bao dough includes yeast…hence the proving. However, I have found a way around this that gives you a bready dough (I admit, not as bready and bouncy as a classic steamed bao), that takes a fraction of the time to make.

If you’re a fan of dumplings, then you’ve got to try out my pan-fried lemongrass beef dumplings, they’re so good!

What You’ll Need For This Cheat Bao (Bun) Recipe

For the almighty dough, you’ll need only two ingredients: self-raising flour, and greek yoghurt.

For the bao filling, you’ll need the following:

• Beef mince
• Lemongrass
• Red onion
• Garlic
• Basil
• Sesame oil
• Soy sauce
• Sugar
• Black pepper

I cannot explain the aromatics of this recipe. You want to buy beef mince that is quite high in fat (I bought 20%), as you want that juicy filling. These are actually very simple to make. Especially, if you’re comparing them to traditional steamed buns. I hope you give them a go, and if you do, leave a comment or DM me on Instagram!

Fancy Making Some More Dumplings?

Cheat Bao (Bun) Recipe

Make these steamed buns in a fraction of the time it takes to make real bao buns!

• Prep Time:  20minutes mins
• Cook Time: 15minutes mins
• Course : Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
• Cuisine : Chinese
• Servings: 10 dumplings

Ingredients

For The Dough

• ▢200g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting
• ▢180g greek yoghurt

For The Filling

• ▢400g beef mince (20% fat)
• ▢1 lemongrass stalk, bashed (to release aromatics) and finely chopped
• ▢1 red onion, finely chopped
• ▢2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ▢Handful of basil, finely chopped
• ▢1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ▢2 tbsp light soy sauce
• ▢2 teaspoon sugar
• ▢½ tablespoon black pepper

Instructions

• Make the dough in a large bowl. Combine the self-raising flour and the greek yoghurt. Stir using chopsticks or a wooden spoon. Then, knead for 5 minutes until you have a bouncy, soft dough. Cover with cling film and set aside for 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients. Gently stir with chopsticks or your hands and then set aside.
• Get your dough and pierce it in the middle with your finger. Form a donut and then slice the donut to make a log (see my video on Instagram for reference). Slice your dough log into 10 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a circular wrapper that is around ½ cm thick and 3 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with flour to keep them from sticking.
• Place a spoonful of the filling into the center of the wrapper and seal in an anticlockwise motion (see my video for help on my Instagram). Repeat this step for all the wrappers.
• Place your dumplings onto little pieces of parchment paper, and then place them in your steamer. Steam for 10-15 minutes and then remove. You can either eat them now, or continue onto the next step to give your dumplings a crispy bottom!
• Grab a pan, place it on medium heat, and drizzle with oil. Add in your dumplings face up and fry for 4 minutes until the underside of the dumpling is golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and serve up while warm. Enjoy!