Pork and Tofu Baos (Steamed Chinese Buns)

One of the best things about living close to Chinatown is being able to buy authentic Asian ingredients at my local grocery markets. When I saw that you can actually buy the fluffy bread bao buns at the freezer section I was beyond excited. 

At $1.35 for 10 you can't go wrong!

These can practically be filled with anything.  Think of them as a fluffy taco shell. This is my first experiment with them and I was inspired by the flavors of the steamed pork buns from places like Prosperity Dumpling and the Baos of the formerly LES snack haven, BaoHaus.

Full disclosure – this recipe is in not necessarily a traditional or authentic, but the flavors came together well and they were quite delicious!

Ingredients

Bao bread (can be found refrigerated or frozen at most Asian markets)

Ingredients for Pork Baos

½ lb of an inexpensive cut of pork (I used pork shoulder with the bone in)

1 TBS canola oil

5 red chili peppers chopped

½ bunch scallions chopped

2 TBS Chinese five spice

2 TBS Mirin

2 TBS brown sugar

1 tsp fish sauce

2 TBS soy sauce

1 tsp ground black pepper

Ingredients for Tofu Baos

1 large brick of fried tofu

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

Ingredients for Toppings – prepare these in advance and set aside in small bowls for dressing the finished baos

Handful of roasted peanuts and 4 TBS raw sugar ground together in a food processor

Small bunch of cilantro and 1/2 bunch scallions chopped finely

4 TBS Sriracha sauce and 4 TBS mirin heated and stirred together

A few of the key ingredients

If you’re making the pork filling, you’ll want to start with that first as it takes the longest to prepare.  In a large stock pot, heat the oil and brown the pork on both sides.  Reduce the heat to low and add the scallions, chili pepper, and five spice and stir.  Add in the mirin, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and pepper and top with about two inches of water.  Cover the pot and braise the meat on low for 90 minutes or until it is tender.  You can uncover the pot for the last 15 minutes or so to help reduce the sauce.  

Pork braising in chilis and spices

Chop the meat into small pieces and reserve in a bowl covered with foil with a few tablespoons of the flavorful reduced cooking liquid.

Juicy, flavorful chopped pork filling

To prepare the tofu, simply sprinkle all sides of the fried tofu with Chinese five spice and warm slowly in a dry frying pan.  There is already a good amount of oil in the crust of the fried tofu so you won’t need to add any extra.  Once it has been warmed through, slice into ¼ inch slices.

To prepare the bao bread, add them to a steamer basket over a pan of simmering water and steam until tender and pliable (about 3 minutes). 

Fill with your desired pork or tofu filling and sprinkle with any of the reserved toppings.

A topped tofu Bao

There’s plenty of room for creativity with these so I’ll definitely be experimenting more with bao bread in the future.