Lemongrass Shredded Mushroom Bao Buns

Watch how to make it here

There’s nothing better than a steaming hot, fluffy bun in your hand. Filled with the most sensational lemongrass shredded mushrooms and tangy pickled vegetables, this will feel like a warm hug in the shape of a bun. 

A few notes:

  1. To save time, it is best to make the pickled carrots and radish and the dough the night before. After you’ve kneaded the dough, you can place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. The pickled vegetables will last in the refrigerator for up to a week. 
  2. King oyster mushrooms are essential to this recipe and it is best not to substitute them with any other mushroom. However, if unable to find king oyster mushrooms at your local grocery store, shiitake mushrooms can be used. 
  3. The Thai chili peppers are spicy so do use caution or dismiss this ingredient altogether if avoiding spicy foods.
  4. For any leftovers, store the mushrooms, toppings, and buns separately. To reheat the buns, you can either steam them for 5 minutes or microwave them for 1 minute with a wet paper towel laid on top of it (this is a quicker steaming method). [lt_recipe name=”Lemongrass Shredded 

Lemongrass Shredded Mushroom Bao Buns

Prep Time

2 hours

cooking time

25 min

Servings

4

total time

2 hours 25 min

Difficulty

Intermediate

Ingredients

1
Buns
2
2 cups all purpose flour
3
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4
1 tbsp baking powder
5
1 cup warm water (use ½ cup and add 1 tbsp at a time)
6
1 tbsp active dry yeast
7
1 tbsp sugar
8
Shredded Mushroom
9
3 king oyster mushrooms, shredded with a fork
10
3 lemongrass stalks, minced
11
2 shallots, minced
12
2 garlic cloves, minced
13
2 Thai chili pepper, minced
14
1 tbsp soy sauce
15
1 tbsp black pepper
16
1 tbsp salt
17
1 tbsp coriander
18
1 tsp white vinegar
19
Pickled Daikon and Carrots (Do Chua)
20
1 carrot, julienned
21
1 palm sized daikon, julienned
22
2 tbsp salt
23
¼ cup sugar
24
½ cup distilled white vinegar
25
½ cup water
26
Topping
27
1 cilantro sprig, roughly chopped
28
1 tbsp pickled daikon and carrots
29
½ english cucumber, julienned2 cups all purpose flour

Cooking Instructions

1
Step 1
To save time, make the pickled daikon and carrots one or two days ahead of time. If made the day of, let the vegetables marinate for at least an hour before using. Combine carrots and daikon in a bowl and add the salt and 2 tbsp of sugar. With clean hands, massage and squeeze the vegetables until it is soft enough to bend without breaking (about 5-10 minutes). Drain the liquid and rinse the vegetables well. Add the vegetables to a clean, glass jar (I used a 16oz container). Next, add the rest of the sugar, white vinegar, and water. Close the jar with the lid and make sure it is tightly sealed before shaking the jar for 10 seconds for the mixture to spread evenly. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
2
Step 2
Creating the buns: Combine the water, yeast, and sugar and allow it to bloom and foam for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour, baking powder, and oil. When the yeast water is ready, slowly add about ½ cup in the bowl with the flour and knead until the dough forms for about 10 minutes. You can add the yeast water about 1 tbsp at a time if necessary. You can always add more water if needed but you can not take away water if the dough is too wet. I usually only end up using about ¾ cup of the water. Once the dough has reached a smooth consistency, lightly oil the dough and place it in a large bowl covered for about 2 hours or until it has doubled in size
3
Step 3
Filling: Meanwhile the buns are proofing, prepare the mushrooms, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, and Thai chili peppers. To mince lemongrass, begin with peeling the outer layers until you reach the smooth center (refer to the video on how to peel the layers). You will know that you reached the center when it smells incredibly fragrant and when you can slightly bend it. From here, go ahead and mince the white bulb. Sometimes you can get away with cutting past the white bulb but chances are the further away you cut from the bottom base, the tougher it will be to chop. After the vegetables have been prepped, heat up 1 tbsp of oil in a nonstick pan. Pan-fry the shallots until golden before adding the garlic and lemongrass. After a few minutes, set this to the side. In the same pan, add the shredded king oyster mushroom. Add the soy sauce, black pepper, salt, vinegar, and coriander. Once it has reduced to half its size, add the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and Thai chili pepper and mix well for a few minutes. Set the mushrooms aside to cool down.
4
Step 4
Preparing the buns: Once the dough has doubled in size, it is ready to be rolled into a bun. There are 2 ways to do this. Divide the dough in half. With ½ of the dough in your hand, roll it flat to just about 0.5 inches thick. Create circles using a cup about 3-4 inches. For any leftover dough scraps, roll it back into a ball and repeat the same technique. With one of the circular dough, lightly roll it forward and back until it’s slightly stretched out. This will allow us to fold the bun into the shape of a clam. Before folding, lightly grease the inside of the dough with vegetable oil. For the second method, grab the other ½ dough. Create an evenly shaped donut hole by piercing through the center with your thumb. Tear the dough apart until it becomes log-shaped. From here, tear the dough into 5 equal pieces. With one-piece, roll the dough into a circular ball and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Use a rolling pin to stretch it out and lightly brush with oil before folding it in half. Repeat this process until you’ve used all the dough.
5
Step 5
Steaming the buns: Place the buns on parchment paper in stainless steel or wooden steamer basket. Steam for 15 minutes. It might take 5-10 minutes before the water starts boiling. Once the water starts to boil, turn it down to medium heat and set the timer to 15 minutes.
6
Step 6
Assembling the buns: Allow the buns to cool for a few minutes before adding the shredded mushrooms topped with the pickled carrots & radish, cucumber, and cilantro. Enjoy!
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ABOUT AUTHOR
Hi, I'm Tiff!

Tiff Loves Tofu is a blog all about simple and delicious plant-based recipes, largely influenced by my culture and life experiences. I hope to show people that cooking wholesome, vibrant plant-based meals is not only easy but it is loads of fun. So, let’s get cooking!

ADVERTISEMENT
Our gallery
Get Updates In Your Inbox !

Sign up with email to receive news & updates.