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Pillow-Soft Piggy Steamed Buns (Mantou/Baozi)

written by Marvellina Updated: November 10, 2020
14.6K
PIN RECIPE COMMENTS VIEW RECIPE RECIPE VIDEO
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Soft fluffy basic mantou recipe are shaped into little piggies are sure to steal everyone’s heart. Making them is as fun as eating them. A video recipe is included for your reference.

Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns

Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns

THE YEAR OF THE PIG

Chinese New Year is coming up on and it is going to be the year of pig. Yeah…that’s where the inspiration is from 😉 I used my Soft and fluffy Chinese Steamed Buns recipe and sweetened it more as I did not put any sweet filling inside. These piggies are just basic lightly sweetened (sweeter than plain steamed buns) steamed buns. They are so fun to make though. Opening the lid of the steamer to reveal all these cute little pink piggies inside just melts my heart

Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns

But, Chinese New Year or not..these piggy steamed buns are good anytime of the year. My son said “Mama, I want these piggies for my birthday next year”. I said “Piggy steamed buns for birthday? Are you sure?” He was like “Why not? Asian people eat steamed buns and we are Asian”. LOL! I couldn’t stop cracking up when I heard that! I’m sure he will change his mind again when something new comes up 😉

PERFECT WITH SAVORY OR SWEET FILLING TOO

I have made them just plain without filling and with a sweet filling like dou sha bao. But you can certainly filled them with savory filling like char siu bao

THE EYES, SNOUTS, AND EARS

The snouts and ears are made with dough.
The eyes are drawn with this black edible marker. You can always use black sesame seeds too.
*Tips if using edible marker: draw the eyes with an edible marker, do so only after the buns are steamed because the color may bleed a little bit when it’s steamed
Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns

How to make piggy steamed buns (mantou)

1. Start with my basic mantou recipe
Pinch of about 20 gr of the steamed buns to make the piggies’ snouts and ears. Wrap it with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Drop the red food coloring on the rest of the dough to make a pink color and continue to knead until the color is even, about 3 minutes

2. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.

3. Work with one dough at a time and cover the rest. If you want to put a sweet or savory filling, shape the dough like a bowl (as shown in the photo and video)

4. Place the filling in there

5. Stretch the dough to seal. Otherwise, you can just roll the dough into round if you don’t want to put any filling. Place on a parchment paper. Continue with the rest of the dough and keep them covered

6. Use the white dough that you pinch off earlier and make 24 pigs’ ears and 12 snouts. Roll them into rounds and flatten to shape into flat pigs’ ears and use a toothpick to make two depressions on each snout. Place two black sesame seeds for the eyes

7. Let the dough proof at a warm place. If it’s winter where you are, you can use your oven “bread proof” function to let them proof in there, or simply turn on your oven to the lowest temperature and then turn off and after 15 minutes, place the shaped buns in there to let them proof. They won’t necessarily double in size, but at least puff up to about 50% of the original size. It may take somewhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the temperature

8. Bring the water in your steamer to a boil. Wrap the lid of your steamer with a kitchen towel to prevent moisture dripping back on the steamed buns as this will create “burn” spots

9. LOWER THE HEAT TO MEDIUM. Place the buns in there, leaving about 1-inch space in between. Cover with a lid but leaving it about 1/4-inch gap for some steam to escape. Steam on medium heat for 8 minutes

10. After 8 minutes, turn off the heat. DO NOT OPEN THE LID of the steamer. Let the buns sit there for 1 minute like this and then open the lid

11. Remove the buns and place them on a cooling rack immediately so the bottom of the buns won’t be wet and soggy

Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns

Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns

Too cute to eat? But again there’s no such things as too cute to eat at our house 🙂
Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns

Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns
All the tips you need to know about making nice smooth steamed buns are here

Easy Sweet Piggy Steamed Buns

Pillow-Soft Piggy Steamed Buns (Mantou/Baozi)

Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 8 minutes mins
Proofing the dough 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 38 minutes mins
Servings 12 medium buns
4.9 from 7 reviews
REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

Option 1:

  • 300 gr all-purpose flour 2 cups + 2 Tbsp, plus more for dusting
  • 60 gr wheat starch 10 Tbsp, or use potato starch or cornstarch

Option 2:

  • 180 gr all-purpose flour 1 cup + 5 Tbsp, plus more for dusting
  • 180 gr cake flour 1 cup + 5 1/2 Tbsp

For both options:

  • 4 gr Instant yeast see notes 1
  • 30 gr sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cooking oil
  • Start with 200 ml milk or water about 13 1/2 Tbsp, room temperature plus more to dab the buns later
  • 2 drops gel red food coloring

For the eyes: (use either one):

  • Black sesame seeds for the eyes
  • Edible marker for the eyes if not using black sesame seeds

Filling ideas (use any one of these):

  • sweet red bean paste
  • sweet mung bean paste
  • black sesame paste

Instructions
 

Make the dough with a machine:

  • Place the flour combination (either option 1 or 2), instant yeast, sugar, and cooking oil in a mixing bowl. If you are using a stand mixer, use a dough hook attachment. Gradually add in milk or water. You may need more than 200 ml most likely (or not). Add more teaspoon by teaspoon until the dough comes together and continue to knead for 5 minutes until the dough is very stretchy and smooth
  • Pinch of about 20 gr of the steamed buns to make the piggies' snouts and ears. Wrap it with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Drop the red food coloring on the rest of the dough to make a pink color and knead for another 8-10 minutes until the color is even and the dough should be smooth and very stretchy

Make the dough by hands:

  • Place the flour combination (either option 1 or 2), instant yeast, sugar, and cooking oil in a mixing bowl. Mix until you get a rough dough (it's not going to be smooth yet). Cover and rest it for 15 minutes. Then go back and knead it. You'll be surprised by how easier it is to knead it now. Knead until the dough is smooth and pliable, about 10-15 minutes. At any point during kneading, you can always stop and rest the dough if you find it hard to knead. This is to relax the gluten. Then go back to knead again and you'll be surprised by the difference it makes by just resting the dough before kneading again. It's easier on you too.
  • Pinch of about 20 gr of the steamed buns to make the piggies' snouts and ears. Wrap it with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Drop the red food coloring on the rest of the dough to make a pink color and continue to knead until the color is even

SHAPING:

  • Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Work with one dough at a time and cover the rest. If you want to put a sweet or savory filling, shape the dough like a bowl (as shown in the photo and video). Place the filling in there and stretch the dough to seal. Otherwise, you can just roll the dough into round if you don't want to put any filling. Place on a parchment paper. Continue with the rest of the dough and keep them covered
  • Use the white dough that you pinch off earlier and make 24 pigs' ears and 12 snouts. Roll them into rounds and flatten to shape into flat pigs' ears and use a toothpick to make two depressions on each snout. Place two black sesame seeds for the eyes
  • If you choose to draw the eyes with an edible marker, do so only after the buns are steamed because the color may bleed a little bit when it's steamed

PROOFING:

  • Let the dough proof at a warm place. If it's winter where you are, you can use your oven "bread proof" function to let them proof in there, or simply turn on your oven to the lowest temperature and then turn off and after 15 minutes, place the shaped buns in there to let them proof. They won't necessarily double in size, but at least puff up to about 50% of original size. It may take somewhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the temperature

STEAMING:

  • Bring the water in your steamer to a boil. Wrap the lid of your steamer with a kitchen towel to prevent moisture dripping back on the steamed buns as this will create "burn" spots 
  • LOWER THE HEAT TO MEDIUM. Place the buns in there, leaving about 1-inch space in between. Cover with a lid but leaving it about 1/4-inch gap for some steam to escape. Steam on medium heat for 8 minutes
  • After 8 minutes, turn off the heat. DO NOT OPEN THE LID of the steamer. Let the buns sit there for 1 minute like this and then open the lid and remove the buns and place them on a cooling rack immediately so the bottom of the buns won't be wet and soggy

STORING:

  • If you make extra and plan to store the cooked steamed buns, place them on a baking sheet, not touching each other, and then put the entire tray inside the freezer for about 1 hour. They will harden, but not completely frozen yet. Transfer to a freezer bag and they will not stick to each other anymore. Try not to keep for more than 1 month

REHEATING:

  • They can go straight from freezer to steamer when you ready to eat them. Steam on high heat for 5 minutes and they are as good as new

RECOMMEDED TOOLS

Kitchen Aid Standmixer
Dough Hook Attachment
Food Steamer

Marv's Recipe Notes

  1. You can use active dry yeast, but make sure to rehydrate the yeast until it's foamy in warm water/milk and 1 tsp of sugar (not all 3 teaspoons) before mixing into the dough. You can add the rest of the sugar when mixing the dough later
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I'd love to see your photos/videos on Instagram

Check out this Soft and Fluffy No-Yeast Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou). These are so good and super easy to make! You can use it to make this piggy steamed buns too 🙂
Soft and Fluffy No Yeast Chinese Steamed Buns (So Easy Too!)

previous post
Eight-Treasure Glutinous Rice Pudding (Ba Bao Fan)
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Easy Crispy Mini Pork Floss Rolls (Baked or Fried)

14 comments

Milena January 20, 2019 - 10:19 am

No little piggy will be safe in our house, lol. These are beyond adorable and I think I might surprise my little boy with them come February:) Still remember when he first learned to sing the song about the animals of the Chinese zodiak, tu and zhu were his favorite:) Thanks to your recipes I have been using my bamboo steamer several times a month which is a record for me!!

Reply
Marvellina January 21, 2019 - 10:16 pm

I’m glad to hear Milena! It’s so cool that you exposed your son to the Chinese culture. Your son is probably more Chinese than my kiddos ha..ha..!

Reply
Carolyn January 17, 2019 - 4:49 am

Can it be steamed with a filling inside? What type of filling would work well? Thank you!

Reply
Marvellina January 17, 2019 - 8:29 pm

Hi Carolyn, yes, you can put filling inside. You can add red bean paste, mung bean paste, lotus seed paste, etc. Savory filling like char siu should work too. I would tone down on the sugar to like 20-30 gr per the recipe if you will put filling inside. Hope that helps.

Reply
Lynn January 16, 2019 - 6:05 pm

Thanks. does pan frying cum steaming flatten the dough? still remained fluffy?
I wish to make for the little piggy like yours for the coming CNY. I have done bao before, before steaming, the bao puffed up nicely, but came out wrinkled and flat after steaming. Do you know why?

Reply
Marvellina January 17, 2019 - 8:31 pm

It doesn’t flatten the dough and they are still fluffy and soft. Two of the reasons why your steamed buns wrinkle could be because of overproofing and also steaming over too high of the heat. These are most common two causes. You can read more in detail in this post I have if you haven’t already https://whattocooktoday.com/soft-fluffy-asian-steamed-buns-every-time.html

Reply
Lynn January 14, 2019 - 11:06 pm

can bake it instead of steam?

Reply
Marvellina January 15, 2019 - 1:32 pm

Lynn, they won’t come out right if you bake them. I’ve tried them 🙂 The family voted NO! LOL. You can however, pan fry and steam like how you would do pot stickers. I know it sounds weird, but I have tried cooking buns this way before. Basically, preheat a bit of oil over medium heat, enough to swirl and cover the base of the pan lightly on a non-stick pan (that comes with a lid) .Place the buns there and let the bottom cook until golden brown. Pour in about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water (it will splatter because of oil and water) and quickly cover with a lid and let them steam for about 2 minutes or so. Then uncover and shake the pan a little to loosen the buns or use a spatula to help you loosen them. I hope this helps

Reply
nicole (thespicetrain.com) January 14, 2019 - 2:01 pm

Oh my goodness, these are WAY too cute to eat, what a wonderful idea, so adorable!! I have a smile on my face now. Thank you for sharing, Marvellina. 🙂

Reply
Marvellina January 15, 2019 - 1:55 pm

Thank you Nicole! Anything piggies are just so cute 🙂 at least that’s what my kids think!

Reply
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