Name: Steamed Pork Buns Recipe {Rou Bao Zi}
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 415 g all-purpose flour, about 2.5 cups, unbleached organic, see notes; 2.5 tsp active dry yeast; 15 g avocado oil; 15 g cane sugar, organic; 1/8 tsp Himalayan pink salt; 205 g water, see notes; 0.5 lb ground pork, home-ground preferred; 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1/2 tbsp natural soy sauce, or dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp Zhenjiang vinegar; 1 egg, organic or cage-free; 1/2 tbsp. arrowroot flour; 1/4 tsp cane sugar, organic; 1/2 tbsp fermented soybean paste {Da Jiang}; 1/4 tsp ginger powder; 1 stalk of green onions, finely chopped; 6 cups of water, plus additional water to add into the pot when steaming the 2nd batch, if needed

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Steamed Pork Buns {Huai Yang Style Rou Bao Zi 肉包子} is such classic traditional food in China. It features a soft fluffy bun wrapper filled with juicy and savory pork fillings. People especially enjoy having them for breakfast, perfect to pair with a bowl of Eight Treasure Porridge {Bao Bao Zhou 八宝粥} for a healthy and satisfying breakfast.

Steamed Pork Buns {Rou Bao Zi}} — Steamed Pork Buns {Rou Bao Zi}

How to make Steamed Pork Buns from scratch at home easy, yummy, and healthy?

The First is to make a fluffy yeast dough for steamed pork buns

It is super easy to make a tasty soft yeast dough using organic all-purpose flour, active dry yeast, a pinch of sugar, and Himalayan pink salt, as long as you learn a few tips. Read here for a detailed step-by-step guided recipe.

The Second is to make a juicy and tasty pork filling

Home-ground pork is the best for a delicious pork filling.

Pork Filling on a Sheng Jian Wrapper — pork filling for dumplings and buns

The Third is to Make Bun Wrappers

You can make wrappers at home in two ways either by hand using a rolling pin or using a Stand Mixer (pasta machine).

This recipe makes about 13 buns {Bao zi}. When using a rolling pin to make bun wrappers, divide the dough into 13 equal portions with each portion of dough weighing about 50 g, and then work on one portion at a time. Read here for a detailed step-by-step guided tutorial.

If you own a Stand Mixer with pasta making attachment or a Manual Pasta Machine, use them to roll the dough into a sheet and then cut it into 4.5-inch rounds. Read here for more details.

Homemade Chinese Bun Wrappers — Homemade Bun Wrappers {Two Ways}

The fourth is to Wrap Buns

This is the same method as wrapping Shanghai Soup Dumplings or Red Bean Paste Buns. See here for a detailed step-by-step tutorial.

The last is to steam pork buns

I prefer using dried bamboo leaves as a coaster for freshly wrapped buns to rest on before adding them to the steaming set.

For the steaming set, you can either use a steamer pot, a stockpot with a steamer basket, or a Wok with a tiered 12-inch bamboo steamer.

Freshly Wrapped Pork Buns in Steamer Sitting on dried bamboo leaves

Remember to add ample water to the pot or wok, about 6 cups of water. Turn the heat to high, and bring it to a boil first. Then add the steamer with the buns, cover the lid, and steam for 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat, wait for about 1 minute and then remove the steamer from the pot.

Steamed Pork Buns Recipe {Rou Bao Zi}

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Steamed Pork Buns {Huai Yang Style Rou Bao Zi 肉包子} is such classic traditional food in China. It features a soft fluffy bun wrapper filled with juicy and savory pork fillings.

Ingredients

For the Dough:

415 g all-purpose flour, about 2.5 cups, unbleached organic, see notes
2.5 tsp active dry yeast
15 g avocado oil
15 g cane sugar, organic
1/8 tsp Himalayan pink salt
205 g water, see notes

For the Pork Filling:

0.5 lb ground pork, home-ground preferred
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1/2 tbsp natural soy sauce, or dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp Zhenjiang vinegar
1 egg, organic or cage-free
1/2 tbsp. arrowroot flour
1/4 tsp cane sugar, organic
1/2 tbsp fermented soybean paste {Da Jiang}
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 stalk of green onions, finely chopped

For Steaming

6 cups of water, plus additional water to add into the pot when steaming the 2nd batch, if needed

Instructions

The First is to make a Fluffy Yeast Dough for steamed pork buns:

Measure out all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl, using a kitchen scale, and then use the "TARE" function to add oil, salt, and sugar one at a time.
Measure out 205 g water in a 2-cup glass measuring cup using the kitchen scale.
Add 2.5 tsp active dry yeast in a small bowl, add some water from the measuring glass, mix and blend until it completely dissolves into a smooth paste, and then pour into the large mixing bowl. Scrape clean the small bowl either using the flour.
Gradually add water to the large mixing bowl while kneading until it forms a smooth dough.
Cover the large mixing bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Read here for a detailed step-by-step guided recipe to make a super fluffy yeast dough for buns.

The Second is to make a juicy and tasty Pork Filling:

Add everything under "For the Pork Filling" in a bowl. Use a bamboo spatula to break down the pork first and then fold the seasoning into the pork. Once everything is loosely mixed together, turn the bamboo spatula in one direction, either clockwise or counter-clock until the whole thing turns into a smooth meat paste.

The Third is to Make Bun Wrappers:

This recipe makes about 13 buns. Divide the dough into 13 equal portions, with each portion of dough weighing about 50 g. Use a kitchen scale to help with this step.
Read here for a detailed guided recipe on how to make bun wrappers two ways, either manual roll using a rolling pin, or leverage the Stand Mixer roller and then cutting out into rounds.

The Fourth is to Warp Buns:

This is the same method as wrapping Shanghai Soup Dumplings or Red Bean Paste Buns. See here for a detailed step-by-step tutorial.

The Last is to Steam Pork Buns:

I prefer using dried bamboo leaves as a coaster for freshly wrapped buns to rest on before adding them to the steaming set. Wax paper or cabbage leaves are alternative popular ways.

For the steaming set, you can either use a steamer pot, a stockpot with a steamer basket, or a Wok with a 12-inch bamboo steamer combination.

Add ample water to the pot or wok, about 6 cups of water. Turn the heat to high, and bring it to a boil first. Then add the steamer with the buns, cover the lid, and steam for 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat, wait for about 1 minute and then remove the steamer from the pot.

Enjoy a freshly steamed super soft juicy savory pork filling bun.

Notes

This recipe makes about 13 pork buns. Steamed buns are freezer friendly.
For easier measurement purposes, I use Gram as a unit for the dough, which you can use as a kitchen scale to manage. Most kitchen scale has a "TARE" function which allows you to read the incremental or "net" weight. A very helpful function.

Start the bun-making process after the yeast dough has been proofed for about 30 minutes. The dough will keep rising as the processes go on.

Key takeaways for making a bun wrapper using a Stand Mixer:

Use a rolling pin to roll over the dough slab once first.
Apply to set 1 on the roller to get the thickest level
Use a 4.5-inch diameter cookie cutter of a small bowl to make a round wrapper that is about 4.5-inch diameter.

When using the Stand Mixer roller for the wrapper, collect the dough that is trimmed off from cutting the dough sheet into rounds, and knead it into a dough slab to reuse them.

The silicone mini spatula is very handy to scrape the pork fillings off the mixing bowl.

The bamboo spatula is useful to stir the pork filling to let all ingredients bind.

For a 12-inch steamer, you can steam about 10-11 buns maximum at a time.