Bánh Bao Recipe (Vietnamese Steamed Pork Buns)

Put the warm milk, yeast, sugar and a tablespoon of flour in a bowl. Stir until you get a frothy mixture.

Now add the rest of the flour, salt, and oil, and knead until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough.

Grease a bowl, lightly flour it and place the dough inside. Cover it with a clean cloth and let it rest in a dry place for a couple of hours.

Now prepare the filling. Rehydrate the mushrooms in cold water and when they are soft, chop them with the spring onion.

Add the meat, soy sauce, pepper and oil to the mince and mix well. Let the filling rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Knead the dough and divide it into 12 small buns. Roll out each dough with a rolling pin to form 12 discs.

Put the filling inside each disc, add a piece of egg and close the dough around the filling.

Place the báhn bao in the steamer and cook for about 15 minutes.

Curiosities and Tips

The filling of the original báhn bao is the one indicated in the recipe, but you can change the ingredients according to taste. You can also make a vegetarian filling with grated zucchini and carrots instead of meat.

Báhn bao should be eaten hot and freshly made or, before steaming, you can freeze them. Put them in the steamer still frozen and cook for 25 minutes.