Pulled Mushroom bao buns

This recipe is great for a light summer evening dinner. Pair two Bao Buns with a lovely salad and presto ! You have a lovely light dinner. 

I will make a confession. I did not make the Bao Buns from scratch. Instead, I visited the local Chinese Supermarket and bought them frozen. Then steamed them for ten minutes. While they were steaming, I prepared the mushroom filling which took me about fifteen minutes !  Super quick and easy to prepare. :)) 


Ingredients
Bao Buns

• ▢1 cup warm water 236 mL
• ▢2 Tbsp sugar
• ▢1 ¼-oz packet instant yeast 7 g
• ▢3 cups all-purpose flour 360 g
• ▢1 tsp baking soda
• ▢1 tsp salt
• ▢1 Tbsp flavorless oil plus more for brushing, 15 mL

Vegan Bao Bun Filling

• ▢4 king oyster mushrooms
• ▢1 Tbsp oil 15 mL
• ▢1 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
• ▢1 tsp smoked paprika
• ▢¼ tsp salt
• ▢2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢2 Tbsp hoisin sauce 30 g
• ▢1 Tbsp sriracha 15 g
• ▢Additional filling ideas: cilantro, pickled red onion, sliced cucumber, julienne cut carrots

InstructionsBao Buns

• Prep: Cut out 12 squares of parchment paper, about 4×4 inches each. (Alternatively, use cupcake liners.)
• Activate Yeast: In a large bowl, stir together water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes, until yeast makes the water frothy.
• Combine: In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to water mixture, along with oil. Stir until a loose ball forms, then turn onto a clean surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes (or 3 minutes with the bread hook of a standing mixer). Dough will be very smooth and elastic when finished kneading.
• Rise: Clean out the bowl and lightly grease it, then set the ball of dough inside. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set somewhere warm. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Shape: Roll dough out to be ¼ inch thick*. Cut 3 to 4 inch circles out (using a cookie cutter or a cup). Lightly brush the inside of each circle with oil, then fold the circle half (the oil will prevent the bun from glueing itself closed while steaming). Flatten and reshape as needed. Place each folded dough on a parchment paper square (or cupcake liner). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.
• Prep Steaming Station: Bring a pot of water to a simmer with a steamer basket set over it. Wrap a towel around the underside of the lid to catch excess steam.
• Steam: Working in batches, transfer buns (and their parchment paper) in a single layer into the steaming basket. Cover with the towel-wrapped lid and let steam, undisturbed, for 10 minutes, or until puffy and cooked through.

Vegan Bao Bun Filling

• Shred Mushrooms: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Using two forks, shred the stems and caps roughly into pieces. Set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
• Bake: Drizzle with the oil, ginger, paprika, salt, and garlic. Toss around to evenly coat the mushrooms, then bake for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are a bit crispy and brown on the edges. Stir in hoisin and sriracha.

Note : Errrmmmm .. another confession here with the filling. I prepared the filling in a pan. I sautéed two onions, one white and one red. Then I added the spices, a little Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon of barbecue sauce, some chilli flakes and at the end a teaspoon of hoisin and siracha. I let them cook for about 10 - 15 minutes. 

Grated carrot was my sprinkle of choice. 

Recipe Compliments and Adapted From: https://www.liveeatlearn.com/vegetarian-bao-buns/