• Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • Pantry
  • Shop
  • subscribe
  • Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
What To Cook Today
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Bak Pao)

written by Marvellina Updated: June 29, 2020
15.9K
PIN RECIPE COMMENTS VIEW RECIPE RECIPE VIDEO
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

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

Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Bak Pao)

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.
Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Bak Pao)

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)
Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Bak Pao)

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
Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Bak Pao)

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
Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Bak Pao)

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)

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

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!
Soft and Fluffy No Yeast Chinese Steamed Buns (So Easy Too!)

previous post
Thai Green Curry (with homemade curry paste)
next post
Easy Delicious Green Curry Laksa

17 comments

Jannette June 19, 2020 - 6:27 am

Hi Marvellina, any tips on keeping the dough from becoming soggy? (Also thank you for your website, it’s Marvellous!)

Reply
Marv June 19, 2020 - 3:43 pm

Hi Jannette, do you mean after steaming the buns? I highly recommend to cool them down on a cooling rack or the bottom of the steamed buns will get wet and soggy. Please let me know if this answers your question. Thank you for your kind words 🙂

Reply
Jo April 17, 2020 - 1:23 am

Tried this today and got compliments from my son. Still have to learn how to pleats the bun 😁 thank you very much

Reply
Marv April 17, 2020 - 2:52 pm

Hi Jo, I’m happy your son likes it 🙂 I’m with you! I’m not good at pleating either. I guess they say practice makes progress LOL! Thank you for trying and for letting me know 🙂

Reply
jack June 13, 2018 - 7:29 pm

Thinking to make this on the weekend. Thank you so much for the recipes and guide pictures.

Reply
Terra October 1, 2022 - 5:20 pm

My 14 year old made these today. We love them.
I am however concerned about the pork getting done. I’m overly paranoid. We let them steam doe 25-30 minutes.
The pork was very soft and I couldn’t tell if it was done or not.
Is the pork supposed to soft? I’m thinking it may be the corn starch making it that way.
Thank you in advance.

Reply
Marvellina October 1, 2022 - 9:29 pm

Hi Terra, if you don’t see any pink color, the pork should be done. Yes, the pork is tender because of the cornstarch and that’s how we usually want it. If it bothers you, you can cut down on the cornstarch.

Reply
Isadora Guidoni June 20, 2017 - 5:55 am

I’ve never tried making anything this impressive, so this will be an interesting challenge. Thank you so much for posting the details! =)

Reply
Marvellina June 20, 2017 - 1:16 pm

Thank you Isadora. Trust me, if I can do it, so can anybody else!! My skill can still be improved for sure

Reply
Anita June 9, 2017 - 5:17 pm

Marv, you are a pro at bun pleating!!! I’m so impressed 🙂 Two thumbs way way up.

Reply
Marvellina June 10, 2017 - 2:18 pm

Thank you Anita. You are too humble!!! You can so pull this off (even better I dare to bet!)

Reply
1 2 »
5 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Please feel free to ask questions here or leave your comments and ratings if you have tried the recipe! Your Email address will not be published!




Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello! I'm Marvellina!

I’m passionate about food—especially bold, comforting Asian flavors—and I love sharing approachable recipes and creative bakes with an Asian twist. So glad you’re here! LEARN MORE...

Our Favorites

  • How To Make Soft and Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake (Complete Guide)

  • Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱面) (Chinese Fried Sauce Noodles)

  • How to Make Basic Asian Rice Porridge (Congee)

  • Homemade Hakka Yong Tau Foo (Soup and Dry Versions)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube

©2025 - What To Cook Today. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy & Disclosure Policy


Back To Top
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Let me know how you like the recipe and consider rating it!

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.