Jamie Oliver's Pork Buns Recipe | Best Appetizer (2024)

FAQs

How to make bao buns in advance? ›

Easy to prep ahead.

The buns freeze PERFECTLY. I'll often make a big batch, then freeze them so I can pull them out for easy meals. Freeze them after you've steamed them, and then you can steam them straight from frozen.

Serve the bao buns with a fresh salad, like the slaw from this tasty sweet and spicy chicken with Asian slaw. For a heartier side, try this Asian-style tofu and edamame salad. And to compliment the flavours of the pulled pork, serve the bao buns with this crunchy pickled vegetable salad.

Fill a pot one third full of water and bring to the boil. Position the buns inside the steamer and place it over the pot of boiling water. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Steam for 12 - 15 minutes, or until the buns are soft and heated all the way through.

When the water is boiling, place the bamboo steamer over the wok and steam buns for 12 minutes. Then turn off the heat (don't lift the lid) and allow the buns to rest over the hot water for 5 minutes. Buns can be made up to a day in advance and steamed to re-heat before serving.

If the bao buns are stored in the fridge, the steaming time is shorter at about 2-3 minutes. Cooked bao buns are typically steamed for about 10 minutes.

When it comes to the dip, hoisin sauce, sweet chilli or a simple soy sauce with sesame oil make great pairings. We love to eat bao alongside some bouncy or zingy veggies. For zingy veg, we suggest some quick pickled cucumber.

We always serve these buns with thinly sliced carrot and/or cucumber, fresh cilantro or mint, avocado, chiles, and sesame seeds. A few pickled jalapeños or the banh mi pickles from this recipe would also be excellent here.

While the buns are steaming, make the hoisin dipping sauce: In a small bowl, stir together the hoisin, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water and the vinegar. Serve with the buns.

The pork buns have been cooked already. By steaming them, hence the name “steamed buns”.

Reheating pork buns properly is essential for enjoying them as if they were fresh from the kitchen. Preserving the softness of the bread while ensuring the pork filling is heated through maintains the quality of the bun's texture and flavor.

How do you cook store bought bao buns? ›

You can replicate a steamer with very little effort by placing your buns in a common kitchen sieve or colander, then suspending it over boiling water. Creating a tower from plates and tea towels will stop the steam from escaping, causing your buns to steam cook!

It is a type of filled bun or bread-like dumpling that originates from Chinese cuisines. Renowned for being light and fluffy, the perfect bao should be light, round and soft.

The bao can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days or they can be frozen for up to a month. If you are reheating cooked bao, add them to the prepared steamer, cover and steam over a high heat for about 10 minutes until they bounce back nicely when pressed with a finger.

How do you keep steamed buns warm? Keep them in the bamboo steamer with lid closed. They should stay warm like this for ~10 minutes. When having them for dinner, I usually actually cook all the bao ahead of time and then re-heat a couple at a time by steaming for 1-2 minutes before eating.

With a two-layer steamer, you can do two batches of 8 buns, and each batch takes about 20 minutes. If you're doing the yeast version that proofs quickly and you have a single-layer steamer or workaround, you should refrigerate half your dough at this point so it doesn't overproof.

Place frozen bao into a stove top steamer basket or basket of rice cooker. Steam over boiling water for about 10-12 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°f. Note: Steam bao from frozen, do not thaw. Flash Frozen Dumplings- 3 easy methods to prepare: boiled, steamed or pan fried.