This recipe uses vegan chicken alternative pieces cut into strips. Use whichever variety you enjoy to give you the texture and content you require. Alternatively use pieces of jackfruit or banana blossom. You can also swap in or out ingredients you have to hand. It’s a flexible mid week meal so use what you love or what you want to use up!
The bao buns take time to make but once cooked they freeze well and you can pop them back in a steamer to give them a new lease of life when you want to use them again for a quick snack. If you don't fancy making the bao buns, this dish can be served with rice, noodles or even some tortilla wraps.
This recipe serves 4 people.
Marinade for meat alternative
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes,
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon,
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp coriander (ground or crushed seeds)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano,
- 1tbsp soft brown sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 120ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
- Sea salt, mill pepper
Stir fry
- 400g meat alternative
- 70g red onion
- 180g mixed peppers (red, yellow, green)
- 100g carrot
- 100g chestnut mushroom
- 120g courgette
- 80g kale (stalks removed)
- 100g bean shoots
- 15g root ginger
- 20g garlic
- 1 medium chilli
- Sea salt, pepper
- Fresh coriander, picked and chopped
- 60ml soy sauce (vegan)
- 100g chopped plum tomatoes or passata
- Oil, rapeseed or flavoured stir fry oil
Method
- Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, then add the meat alternative (or jackfruit or banana blossom) to coat the pieces and leave for 1 hour.
- Wash, peel and slice the vegetables for the stir fry.
- Finely chop the garlic, ginger and chilli.
- Add some oil to a wok or wide bottomed pan.
- Add the spiced plantbased ingredient and fry on a medium heat to colour slightly and give add a little smoky flavour. Do this in 2 batches to allow contact with the pan. Add more oil as required.
- Remove to a bowl and add more oil to the pan.
- Add onions, carrots and peppers & stir fry for 2-3 minutes before adding the chilli, ginger and garlic.
- Add the remaining vegetables and mix thoroughly and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Return the spiced vegan product to the pan and mix everything together.
- Add the soy sauce and tomatoes, mix again and season.
- Simmer for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to absorb.
- The mixture should be moist but not over wet.
- If you wish to have more liquid, add more tomato (you will only have used about 1/3 of a tin).
- Serve with the bao buns, or instead with rice, noodles, or with oven cooked potato wedges along with flatbreads.
Homemade Bao Buns - recipe makes 18
Ingredients
- 525g plain flour
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp fast action yeast
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 50ml soy or almond milk
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp baking powder
Ingredients
- Mix together the flour, caster sugar and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl.
- Dissolve the yeast and a pinch of sugar in 1 tbsp warm water, then add it to the flour with the milk, sunflower oil, rice vinegar and 200ml water. Mix into a dough, adding a little extra water if needed.
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10-15 mins, or until smooth. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 2 hrs, or until doubled in size.
- Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and punch it down. Flatten the dough with your hands, then sprinkle over the baking powder and knead for 5 mins.
- Roll out the dough into a long sausage shape, about 3cm thick, then cut into pieces that are about 3cm wide – you should have 18. In the palm of your hand, roll each piece of dough into a ball and leave to rest for 2-3 mins.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out each ball, one by one, into an oval shape about 3-4mm thick. Rub the surface of the dough ovals with oil and brush a little oil over a chopstick. Place the oiled chopstick in the centre of each oval. Fold the dough over the chopstick, then slowly pull out the chopstick.
- Cut 18 squares of baking parchment and put a bun on each. Transfer to a baking tray, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hr 30 mins, or until doubled in size.
- Heat a large steamer over a medium-high heat. Steam the buns for 8 mins until puffed up (you’ll need to do this in batches). Prise open each bun and fill with our barbecue pork and pickled carrot & mooli. Eat while they’re still warm.