Bánh tiêu
Bánh tiêu is a lightly sweet Vietnamese fried bread coated with sesame. A yeast-raised dough with baking powder is rolled into small rounds and fried until puffed and golden.
Bánh bao
Vietnamese steamed pork buns · Banh bao
Vietnamese steamed wheat buns wrapped around seasoned pork, mushrooms, Chinese sausage and hard-boiled quail eggs. This from-scratch version uses yeast and self-rising flour.
A Vietnamese steamed filled bun
Bánh bao is a steamed filled bun. This from-scratch version combines self-rising flour and instant yeast in a soft dough, then encloses seasoned ground pork, a hard-boiled quail egg, mushroom, and Chinese sausage. The author also offers peas and carrots as an option. This recipe follows that particular pork-and-egg preparation; it does not represent every regional or household bánh bao filling.
The recipe precooks the pork portions for 7–8 minutes but gives no internal endpoint. CDC advises using a food thermometer rather than colour or texture and lists 160°F for ground pork. Check each portion's thickest meat section before wrapping it, avoiding the hard-boiled egg. The final 10-minute steaming step cooks the dough around filling that has already reached this endpoint.
The recipe author says cooked leftover buns can be wrapped individually, frozen, then reheated in a microwave or steamer. The page gives no storage duration or reheating temperature, so the catalogue does not add one.
Sources for this section
History
The recipe author describes bánh bao as a Vietnamese steamed bun with savory filling. This modern home recipe is prepared with self-rising flour and instant yeast; no earliest date is established here.
Ingredients
Yield 12 buns · Scaling: source batch only
MilkWarm before mixing with the dough ingredients.
200 mL
Granulated sugarFor the dough.
100 g
Self-rising wheat flourSift.
400 g
Vegetable oilUse 2 tablespoons in the dough and 2 tablespoons to sauté the onion.
59 mL4 tbsp as recorded
OnionChop.
118 mL½ cup as recorded
white or yellow onion340 g¾ lb as recorded
fatty ground porkGranulated sugarFor the filling.
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Oyster sauce
30 mL2 tbsp as recorded
Chicken or mushroom bouillon powder
1.2 mL¼ tsp as recorded
choose oneSesame oil
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Wood ear mushroomsRehydrate and mince.
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
Frozen peas and carrots (optional)
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
Chinese sausageDice one sausage and slice the other diagonally.
2
Quail eggsHard-boil and peel.
12
Amount not stated
the recipe method mentions pepper but the ingredient list gives no amountWhite vinegarAdd to the steamer water.
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
used to help keep the buns whiteMethod
Risks and precautions · Elevated risk
Ground pork
The filling contains raw ground pork, which can carry harmful germs if it is not cooked through.
Hazard sourceRaw flour
The dough contains uncooked flour before steaming; raw dough should not be tasted.
Hazard sourcePrecook every pork portion and verify its thickest meat section with a clean, thin-tip food thermometer at 160°F (71°C), avoiding the quail egg. Continue steaming as needed; the source's 7–8-minute estimate is not a substitute for this check.
Control sourceDo not taste raw dough. Cook the buns before eating and wash hands, bowls, utensils, and work surfaces after handling flour or dough.
Control sourceKeep raw pork and its utensils separate from ready-to-eat foods; wash and sanitize the thermometer after checking the pork portions.
Control sourceCooked pork portions and hard-boiled quail eggs are enclosed in the dough before final steaming; do not wrap pork portions until each has reached the thermometer endpoint.
The recipe gives no proofing temperature or steam temperature. Keep the steamer supplied with water and avoid contact between water and buns.
Hot steam and metal steamer parts can cause burns.
The author recommends freezing individually wrapped cooked leftovers and reheating in a microwave or steamer, but gives no duration or reheating endpoint.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, warm the milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the dough sugar until dissolved, then add the instant yeast and stir gently. Leave for 10 minutes, until frothy.
- Put the yeast mixture and sifted self-rising flour in a stand-mixer bowl. Mix with a dough hook on medium-low until the dough comes together loosely. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and mix on low until incorporated and the dough mostly pulls away from the bowl.
- Cover the bowl and leave the dough in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
- Hard-boil and peel 12 quail eggs. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the chopped onion until soft and aromatic; set aside to cool.
- Mix the ground pork with the filling sugar, oyster sauce, bouillon powder, sesame oil, black pepper and minced rehydrated wood ear. Stir in the cooled onion, optional peas and carrots, and diced Chinese sausage. Divide into 12 equal portions, placing one hard-boiled quail egg in the centre of each portion and shaping the pork around it.
- Set the pork portions in a steamer and precook for 7–8 minutes. Use a clean, thin-tip food thermometer to check the thickest meat section of each portion, avoiding the quail egg; continue steaming until every portion reaches 160°F (71°C). Do not rely on colour or the stated steaming time to judge ground-pork doneness.
- Divide the risen dough into 12 equal portions, about 117 g each. Shape each into a ball and roll it into a circle about 5½ inches across.
- Place a cooked pork-and-egg portion in the centre of each dough circle. Top with slices of the remaining Chinese sausage. Draw the dough over the filling, fold and pinch the edges together, then twist and pinch the top to seal.
- Set each bun on a 2×2-inch parchment square or in a cupcake liner. Leave about 1 inch between buns in the steamer so they can expand. Add the white vinegar to the steamer water and wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel to catch condensation.
- Steam the assembled buns for 10 minutes. Remove the steamer carefully, then remove the parchment or liners before eating. Serve warm. The recipe author says cooked leftovers can be wrapped individually and frozen, then reheated in a microwave or steamer; no storage duration or reheating temperature is given.
Conditions
Yield12 buns
Fermentation1 h
Temperature controlAmbient, monitored
Places
Vietnam
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe author describes the preparation as Vietnamese bánh bao; this association does not claim a precise regional origin.
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Sources
Vicky PhamMethod · Geography · History
Vietnamese Steamed Pork Buns with Dough from Scratch (Banh Bao)Vietnamese steamed pork bun; the recipe uses self-rising flour and instant yeast in a dough made from scratch.
The source gives dough and filling quantities, a one-hour dough rise, pork portions around hard-boiled quail eggs precooked in a steamer for 7–8 minutes, 12-bun shaping details, spacing, vinegar in the steamer water, and 10-minute final steaming.
The author says cooked leftover buns can be individually wrapped and frozen, then reheated in a microwave or steamer; no storage duration or reheating temperature is supplied.
Cited in: A Vietnamese steamed filled bun
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Raw Flour and DoughRaw flour can carry germs; do not eat raw dough; cook it according to recipe directions and wash hands and surfaces after handling flour and dough.
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Preventing Food PoisoningUse a food thermometer rather than colour or texture to determine doneness; ground meats including pork should reach 160°F.
Keep raw meat and eggs separate from ready-to-eat foods; wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling raw meat.
Cited in: A Vietnamese steamed filled bun