Steamed bao buns with pulled pork バオバン

These steamed Bao Buns filled with pulled pork are a great way to use any leftover pulled pork (or other meat) and are a tasty little alternative to a regular sandwich!

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g Plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried yeast
• 50 ml milk
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 200 ml water
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pulled pork (recipe here)
• Lettuce (sliced carrot, spring onions, etc. (whatever you want to fill them with).)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together in a larger bowl.
2. 2Dissolve the yeast and a pinch of salt in 1 tbsp of warm water then add it to the flour mixture, along with the milk, oil, vinegar and water.
3. 3Mix it all together until it forms a dough (adding water if needed).
4. 4Lightly sprinkle some flour onto a bench or cooking board and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes or until it's smooth.
5. 5Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl (I used olive oil spray), cover it with a damp tea towel and leave it to rise for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
6. 6Take the dough out of the bowl and punch it down on a bench/board.
7. 7Flatten the dough with your hands then sprinkle the baking powder on top and knead for 5 minutes.
8. 8Roll the dough out into a long sausage shape (about 3cm thick) then cut into 3cm wide pieces.
9. 9Roll each piece of dough into a ball using your hands then leave them to rest for 2-3 minutes.
10. 10Roll out each ball with a rolling pin into a flat oval shape about 3-4mm thick.
11. 11Place a chopstick flat on the surface in the centre of each oval and fold the dough over the chopstick, then slowly pull the chopstick out (the recipe I followed said to lightly oil the dough and the chopstick, however, I didn't find it necessary but if you're dough is a bit sticky you may need to).
12. 12Leave the prepared buns on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover them with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
13. 13Heat water in a large steamer over medium-high heat.
14. 14Steam the buns (in batches, depending on how many will fit in your steamer) for 8 mins until puffed up.
15. 15Prise open each bun and fill them with the pulled pork, lettuce, sliced carrots, and spring onions (or whatever fillings you like).