Pork and Mushroom Bánh bao

A snow-white bun, incredibly soft to the touch. Inside, a juicy filling where pork meets the crunch of wood ear mushrooms, with a surprise hard-boiled egg at the center.

• Prep time: 45 min
• Cook time: 25 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 1018
• Protein: 46 g
• Carbs: 120 g
• Fat: 37 g

Ingredients

• 500 g Wheat flour ( sifted )
• 250 ml Whole milk ( lukewarm )
• 20 g Fresh baker's yeast
• 50 g White sugar
• 400 g Ground pork
• 30 g wood ear mushroom ( rehydrated and chopped )
• 1 piece Onion ( finely minced )
• 2 piece Egg ( hard-boiled and quartered )
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 1 pinch Black pepper ground
• 2 piece Chinese sausage (Lap Xuong) ( thinly sliced )

Instructions

1. Yeast preparation

   Dissolve the fresh baker's yeast in the lukewarm whole milk. Let it rest for 10 minutes until a light foam appears on the surface.

2. Kneading the dough

   Mix the wheat flour, white sugar, and the milk-yeast mixture. Knead until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticks to your fingers. Let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.

3. Preparing the filling

   Chop the onion and rehydrated wood ear mushrooms. Mix with the ground pork, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper. Slice the Chinese sausages (Lap Xuong) into thin rounds.

4. Assembling the buns

   Degas the dough and divide it into 8 balls. Roll each ball into a disk, place a spoonful of filling, a hard-boiled egg quarter, and a slice of Chinese sausage in the center. Fold the edges upwards and pinch to seal.

5. Steaming

   Place the buns in a steamer basket on squares of parchment paper. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes. The bun should be puffy and spring back when pressed with a finger.

Chef's tips

• Add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the steaming water to achieve a brilliant white dough.
• Do not lift the lid during cooking; the thermal shock will cause the buns to collapse.

Storage

Can be kept for 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat strictly by steaming to restore the fluffiness.