Banh Bao Chay

Banh Bao Chay

Vegetarian Steamed Buns

I had to make Banh Bao Chay (Vegetarian Steamed Buns) for Temple and Buddhist monks don't eat meat so that's why its vegetarian.  It was for a large ceremony, so this recipe is pretty big. Just use smaller portions and adjust to your needs. Check out my regular Banh Bao recipe for smaller measurements. 

Yields 5 Dozen Banh Bao Chay

Ingredients

Yeast Mixture:
2 cup luke warm water (use milk if you are making the regular banh bao)
5 tsp dry instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Flour Mixture: 
6 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1  cup sugar
4 tbsp olive oil

Filling Mixture:

4 cups diced fried tofu (I use extra firm tofu)

2  cup of bean threads (see photo below)

1 cup of diced red onions

1 cup diced carrots

2 cups of diced shitake mushrooms 

2 cups of diced cabbage

1/2 cup minced garlic

3 tbsp of mushroom soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp powdered garlic

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp mushroom seasoning (see photo below)

Prep all your ingredients.

I do this because its better to have everything you need together, than frantically running around the kitchen for each ingredient. I'm also a bit OCD... LOL

Pan fry your tofu slices in about 1 tbsp of oil.

**Make sure you thoroughly drain your tofu as much as possible. Let the tofu sit in a colander over a bowl and drain out all the moisture. Additionally, pat dry the tofu in a paper towel before frying. Extracting all the moisture in the tofu makes it less dangerous to fry because water and oil don't mix and will cause a splash back. Also, reducing moisture allows for a crispier tofu. **

After frying, place the tofu directly onto a paper towel and allow to cool.

This is to extract any excess oil from the tofu. No one wants clogged arteries. Replace the paper towel if needed, might take two.

Once cool, dice tofu.

Heat up your saute pan to about medium to medium high heat. Saute garlic and onions to a slight brown crisp and slightly translucent onions.

Add in mushrooms and stir. Let cook for about a minute.

Add in tofu, salt, pepper, powdered garlic, mushroom seasoning, soy sauce, sesame oil, and stir. Let flavor cook for about 3 minutes.

 

Add in carrots and stir.

We add carrots close to the end because we still want the carrots to have some bit and crisp to them and not be mush.

Add in bean threads and stirs.

Add in cabbage last! and stir...

We add the cabbage last and cook for a very short amount of time because cabbage has a lot of moisture and we don't want it to cook too long. This should also still be crisp, as to not make our end product wet.

Combine the mixture together and taste. Go with your gut. Cooking is about how you feel and if you think it needs an extra dash of this or that...GO FOR IT! 

Place stuffing to the side and proceed to make the dough.

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately!

I forgot to take a separate picture of the the yeast mixture alone. BUT in a separate bowl combine, sugar, salt, and yeast in luke warm water. Mix well and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes so the yeast can activate. You will know the yeast is ready when it becomes a bit foam like on the surface.

**Do not use hot water, it will kill the yeast.**

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and olive oil  together.

After the yeast mixture is active, combine with the dry ingredients.

Whether you are using a stand mixer or kneading by hand, you'll know the dough is ready when you are mixing that the dough bowl is clean and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Add more water or flour to obtain the correct consistency.

Cover bowl with damp cloth and let dough rise for 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size. 

If you live in a cold climate, place the bowl in your oven with the light on OR in the microwave. 

You'll know the dough is ready if it is double in size and you see air pockets in the dough. That is a good sign the yeast did its job.

Grab your mixture and dust your work surface with flour. Pour out your dough and knead it into a loaf. Proceed to cut your dough into desired sizes and form into small dough balls. Allow the dough balls to sit under a damp cloth for about 10-15 minutes before you begin to work with them.

Take your dough ball and roll it into a circle. make sure the sides are thinner than the center base. 

Grab your circle dough and place about 2 tbsp of your filling in the center. Then grab all the edges and pinch together in the center and give it a slight twist to form the shape. 

Place in a steamer and make sure to leave a little room for expansion between. Steam for 30 minutes.

DONE! Congratulations!!! Now eat it silly! Nomnomnom....