Vegan bao buns
These vegan bao buns make for a fun weekend dinner, especially when you have guests over. Fill your bao buns with delicious teriyaki seared tofu, oyster mushrooms, carrot and spring onion.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the bao buns
- 475 g plain flour
- 1.5 tbsp caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 x7g sachet fast action dried yeast
- 250 mls lukewarm unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 tsp sesame oil
For the fillings
- 3 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 225 g smoked tofu drained and pressed *see notes
- 125 g oyster mushrooms
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- Thumb of ginger minced
- 60 mls teriyaki sauce
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
- 1 star anise
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
To serve
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
- 1 carrot julienned
- 1 spring onion sliced
Instructions
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder and combine the ingredients.
- Add the yeast to a jug of lukewarm almond milk. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the almond milk and sunflower oil. Mix well until the mixture forms a stiff dough.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, adding more liquid if needed to make the dough easier to manage. When the dough is soft and passes the indentation test (see notes) add to a bowl oiled with 1 tsp of sesame oil. Turn the dough over so it is lightly coated in the oil. Place cling film over the bowl and leave to double in size, approximately 2 hours.
- Flatten the dough using your hands to knock out the air. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough into a long sausage shape. Divide the dough into 12 balls. Roll out each ball to a flat oval shape. Brush over the sesame oil, place a chopstick in the centre and fold in half. Place the bao buns on baking trays lined with baking parchment. Leave to prove for an hour.
- Make a start on the filing. To rehydrate the porcini mushrooms, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to soften for 10 minutes, then drain and thinly slice.
- Heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the tofu and cook for 5 minutes, turning over frequently. Next add the porcini and oyster mushrooms, ginger and garlic and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Pour in the teriyaki sauce, maple syrup and add the hot chilli powder, star anise, sugar and sesame oil. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Return to the bao buns. Place the bao buns in a steamer for 6 minutes. The bao buns are cooked when they are fluffy and slightly firm to the touch. Repeat until all the the buns are steamed.
- Serve and fill with the tofu teriyaki mixture. Top with the carrots and spring onions. Finish by adding a sprinkling of sesame seeds and roasted peanuts.
Notes
- For this recipe I've used the Tofoo Co smoked tofu for a richer taste, alternatively you can use plain firm tofu.
- Perform the indentation test to check whether your dough is ready for proving. Press down into the dough with your finger to leave a small indentation, if the dough springs back up it is ready to prove.