Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Bak Pao)

Learn how to make soft and fluffy steamed buns stuffed with savory pork fillings. Perfect for brunch, as a snack, or appetizer.

These Chinese steamed pork buns remind me of what my daughter usually would say on the weekend. We usually eat out on the weekends. I would ask them where they would like to eat for lunch. Sometimes this is what my daughter says “How about the bak pao place?” Bak pao is Hokkian language. Bak is meat in general and pao is similar to the Chinese bao (steamed buns). Don’t confuse this with the Chinese BBQ Pork Steamed Buns (Char Siu Bao), which uses Chinese BBQ pork as a filling.

HOW TO MAKE CHINESE STEAMED PORK BUNS (BAK PAO)

1. PREPARE THE BASIC STEAMED BUNS DOUGH
You can read more in details about it in this Soft Fluffy Chinese Steamed Buns Recipe post.

2. PREPARE THE FILLING
Place all ingredients for the pork filling in a mixing bowl. Use a chopstick to stir in one direction until the meat is a paste-like consistency. Cover with a plastic wrap and marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight if you have the time.
3. WRAPPING
Lightly dust your work surface with a bit of flour, not too much. Flatten the dough with your palm and then use a rolling pin to roll it out to form a circle about 4-5 inches, with a slightly thicker middle part. Place the filling in the middle. Create a fold around the edge and then pinch to seal.

Cup the dough with both palms and move the dough in a circular motion to shape it taller. This will make your steamed buns “taller”. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. Keep them covered with a clean tea towel.

4. PROOFING
Let the shaped buns proof until about 50%  its original size. They don’t have to double in size. This may take about 15-20 minutes. DO NOT OVERPROOF THE BUNS

Anyway, making steamed buns is one of my favorite thing to do. I find it therapeutic. I still need to practice more at pleating the buns, but I find this activity calms me down!
5. STEAMING
Bring the water in a steamer to a boil. Wrap the lid with a cloth. This will prevent water dripping from the lid creating burn spots. Place some of the buns on the steamer. Close the lid and leave about 1/4-inch of gap to let some steam escapes. Steam on MEDIUM heat for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait for 5 minutes and then remove steamed buns from the steamer to cooling rack. This will prevent the bottom from getting wet and soggy.

POSSIBLE VARIATIONS

DIFFERENT MEAT OPTION: You can use ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef. Make sure they have some fats.
ADD SAUSAGE AND EGG: This will be like the Vietnamese Steamed Pork Bun (Banh Bao)

HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER STEAMED PORK BUNS

1. Let the steamed buns cooled down completely.
2. Place them on a baking sheet lined with a parchment paper, not touching each other
3. Put in the freezer and let them freeze for about 1 hour. They won’t be completely frozen yet
4. Transfer to a freezer bag and they won’t stick to each other anymore and you save some space too

HOW TO REHEAT FROZEN STEAMED BUNS

1. MICROWAVE: No thawing necessary. Simply reheat in a microwave on high until heated through
2. STEAMER: Bring water in the steamer to a boil. Place the steamed buns in the steamer and steam on medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until heated through

DID YOU MAKE THIS CHINESE STEAMED PORK BUNS RECIPE?

I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!

Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Bak Pao)

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings 16 medium-size buns

5 from 3 reviews

REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

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Basic Steamed Buns:

• ▢ 1 Basic steamed buns recipe

Pork filling:

• ▢ 500 gr ground/minced pork preferably with some fat
• ▢ 3 stalks scallion trim off roots and finely chopped
• ▢ ½ tsp sugar
• ▢ ½ tsp salt or more to taste
• ▢ ½ tsp ground white pepper
• ▢ 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• ▢ 1 tsp sesame oil
• ▢ 1 ½ tsp corn starch

Instructions

 

Prepare the filling:

• Place all ingredients for the pork filling in a mixing bowl. Use a chopstick to stir in one direction until the meat is a paste-like consistency. Cover with a plastic wrap and marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight if you have the time

Wrapping:

• Once you have the basic steamed buns dough, lightly dust your work surface with a bit of flour, not too much. Flatten the dough with your palm and then use a rolling pin to roll it out to form a circle about 4-5 inches, with a slightly thicker middle part. This is to support the weight of the filling. Don't roll the dough too thin. If you roll the dough too thin, the filling might make the steamed buns "wrinkle" later when you steam
• Place the filling in the middle. Create a fold around the edge and then pinch to seal. Cup the dough with both palms and move the dough in a circular motion to shape it taller. This will make your steamed buns "taller". Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. Keep them covered with a clean tea towel

Proofing:

• Let the shaped buns proof until about 50% double its original size. They don't have to double in size. This may take about 30 minutes to 1 hour, but please don't go by the time, just observe to make sure the buns have puffed up to half its original size before steaming and when you gently push on the dough, it slowly bounces back. If it bounces back immediately, the dough needs longer proofing time

Steaming:

• If your steamer is not able to steam all buns at one go, do it in 2-3 batches. Make sure to cover the rest of the proofed buns and then place them in the refrigerator to slow down the yeast activity or halt it all together until they are ready to be steamed
• Bring the water in a steamer to a boil. Wrap the lid with a cloth. This will prevent water dripping from the lid creating burn spots. Place some of the buns on the steamer. Close the lid and leave about 1/4-inch of gap to let some steam escapes. Steam on MEDIUM heat for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait for 5 minutes and then remove steamed buns from the steamer to cooling rack. This will prevent the bottom from getting wet and soggy

Storing:

• If you make extra and plan to store them, once the steamed buns have cooled down, place them on a baking sheet not touching each other and put them inside the freezer for 1 hour then transfer to a freezer bag

RECOMMEDED TOOLS

Kitchen Aid Standmixer

Dough Hook Attachment

Food Steamer

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. These are so good and super easy to make!