Steamed Buns 3 INGREDIENT SIOPAO FILLING RECIPE (2024)

FAQs

What is siopao bun made of? ›

Some recipes include rice flour, but generally wheat flour is used since it gives the dough a softer crumb and a better flavor. All-purpose flour is commonly used to make siopao. It contains about 11% protein and has a gluten index of at least 95%.

The suitable type of flour for making Siopao is Pao or Bao or Dumpling flour. Both are bleached and can produce white buns. If you use the standard all-purpose flour, the color of the Siopao will be slightly yellowish. And adding vinegar to the boiling water will not help your Siopao become whiter.

Bao Buns (pronounced “bow”), but also known as a 'steamed buns' or 'baozi' 包子, are a delicious, warm, fluffy treat of stuffing wrapped inside a sweet, white dough. Made with a mix of flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil, the bao is a tad sweeter than its closely related cousin, the dumpling.

Best steamer setup

A classic and affordable pick, bamboo is great because it absorbs condensation, preventing the food from becoming soggy due to dripping water. This is especially important for buns; if too much water falls on them during the steaming process, they can turn unpleasantly wet.

Siopao differs from the baozi in that it is much larger and is eaten held in the hands like a sandwich. It also uses different traditional fillings.

Siopao is a Hokkien term for baozi, literally meaning “steamed buns”.

Try using a portion of or 100% bread flour for your dough. Many of these attributes can be traced back to different parts of China. To achieve the bright white fluffier buns you might see in Cantonese cuisine, you'll have to seek out very low protein, bleached flour.

If you want to steam it the next day then you can leave the dough in the refrigerator to rise the first time overnight. You might want to decrease the amount of yeast used in your recipe in this case.

Add Sugar

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

A perforated paper liners is just baking paper / parchment paper with holes in it. It's used to line the base of steamers to stop food from sticking to the base whilst still allowing steam to rise from the simmering water underneath to cook the food.

Are steamed buns healthy? ›

A standard steamed bao typically contains about 200-250 calories, positioning it as a moderate-calorie food option. Additionally, bao serves as a source of protein and dietary fiber, particularly when made with whole grain flours or filled with vegetables or lean meats.

Bao originated in Northern China and dated back to the Three Kingdoms period in the third century. Some argue that evidence of these buns can be traced back as far as 400 BC. There is a more extensive story about how Zhuge Liang created bao as a military strategy.

Leftovers can be cooled to room temperature and refrigerated in an airtight container, where they will keep several days. To reheat, bring the buns to room temperature and steam them on parchment squares for 8–10 minutes, until thoroughly hot.

Place frozen Buns into a lightly oiled steamer and cover. Steam the Buns over boiling water for approx. 15 minutes. Buns are cooked when the meat inside is steaming hot.

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.

Vietnamese steamed pork buns, or Banh bao, is an adaptation of the Chinese steamed buns, but so much better. Hehe. Banh baos are fluffy savory pork buns made with ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, and Chinese sausages.

Essential ingredients for making steamed pork buns. From top left to bottom right: steamed bun dough, 1 lb premade Chinese BBQ pork, oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oil, sugar, Shaoxing cooking wine, and cornstarch slurry.

The Filipino version of Chinese steamed buns, these are made with a homemade rice flour dough and stuffed with savory shredded chicken, then steamed until light and puffy.

The recipe for these buns remains quite traditional, apart from the roux of course, made with bread flour, a little sugar, spices, eggs, butter and dried fruit. In this recipe I have stuck with classic raisins, sultanas and some candied peel.