Chinese Steamed Buns (Gua Bao Buns)

If you’ve ever walked past a Chinese dim sum takeout restaurant or eaten dim sum where it’s served off of carts, you’ve probably seen clouds of steam wafting out of bamboo or metal steamers. And there’s a good chance that fluffy white steamed buns filled with everything from pork (cha siu bao) to sweet red bean paste or custard are in those steamers. The bright white buns are pillowy-soft, slightly sweet, and best eaten warm and fresh. 

This same dough is used to make pocket-style steamed buns, also known as gua bao buns. Gua bao are Taiwanese sandwiches stuffed with red-braised pork belly, peanuts, cilantro, and pickles. I didn’t grow up eating gua bao, but I did eat the plain gua bao buns many times with my Cantonese family with roast or Peking-style duck, where the crisp skin of the duck is carefully carved off to stuff into the buns with hoisin sauce, scallions, and cucumber. In fact, this fun make-your-own sandwich platter was what inspired me to create a Chinese bao board with both steamed and baked buns.

There aren’t a lot of ingredients you need to make steamed buns, but do make sure you use cake flour, which is the closest approximation to a highly bleached flour that is used in restaurants and bakeries. 

1. Warm the milk and water. Use warm milk and water to wake up and activate the yeast.
2. Mix the dough. Mix a soft dough together with the yeast mixture, cake flour, sugar, and baking powder.
3. Do the first rise. Let the dough rise until it’s soft like a marshmallow.
4. Shape the dough. Form dough balls, then roll each one out into an oval. Brush the oval with oil, then fold in half to make a pocket.
5. Do the second rise. Let the pockets rise slightly.
6. Steam. Steam the pockets until the dough is cooked through. Definitely serve warm!

• Weigh out the cake flour. Using too little or too much flour can result in a dough that is hard to work with.
• Don’t use too much extra flour. If the dough is sticky while you’re forming the dough into balls, flour your hands, not the work surface, so you don’t add too much flour to the dough. It’s OK to use some flour on the work surface when you’re rolling it out into an oval.
• Use muffin papers. If you don’t have parchment paper or don’t feel like cutting out squares, use flattened muffin papers instead — just make sure to brush them with oil first or the buns may stick.
• Steam gently. Steam the buns over medium heat so the buns steam up with a smoother texture. Too high of a steam may cause the dough to steam up bumpier (although still delicious!).

Fill these soft pockets with store-bought or homemade cha siu (sweet Chinese roast pork), or even honey-sesame tofu if you want a vegetarian option. I also love putting fried slices of SPAM and scrambled eggs in the buns as a tasty and filling breakfast option, and I’m eyeing this amazing-looking Taiwanese breakfast sandwich, too. (Santou are bigger than these steamed buns, so you can probably divide the filling between two buns).

If you find yourself with leftovers buns, refrigerate them in a zip-top bag or airtight container, or freeze them. Rewarm them by steaming for a few minutes (my preferred method), or in a pinch, wrapping them in damp paper towels and microwaving them until just warmed through.