Deliciously soft and fluffy buns filled with tender pork. These Pork Steamed Buns are more simple than they look and worth the little bit of effort.
Steamed Buns aren’t as hard as you might think
I remember when I first saw steamed dumplings thinking they looked great, but they would be hard to make. Now I don’t claim to be a steamed bun professional, but they really aren’t very hard to make at all!
The dough itself could not be easier. It is just self raising flour mixed with water and requires minimal effort. Give them a try and you’ll see!
How to make the filling for the Steamed Pork Buns
The filling for these Steamed Pork Buns couldn’t be easier. Any cooked pork will work well but I like to use leftovers from my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.
It is a great way to create another delicious recipe that is completely different from the original.
If you didn’t have any leftover pork, you can always use shop bought pulled pork. I have used BBQ pulled pork before which worked quite well. Obviously it was a completely different flavour, but it is an alternative option.
Can I make these vegetarian?
Yes, these steamed buns can definitely be made vegetarian. Linda McCartney does a vegetarian pulled pork and hoisin duck. This comes frozen so I would cook it as per the packet’s instructions.
Apart from the oyster sauce, the rest of the filling’s ingredients should be suitable for vegetarians. As a substitute to the oyster sauce, you could use a mushroom stir fry sauce which I believe has a similar consistency to oyster sauce.
Steamed Pork Buns cooking tips
Perfect looking steamed buns shouldn’t necessarily be your goal here. I have made perfect looking Pork Steamed Buns and some that look not so perfect.
I quite like it when the buns split slightly when they are steaming because you can see some of the filling. This adds a bit of colour to them too which stops them looking so pale.
Although it is quite nice when they split slightly, you don’t want to overfill them so much so that they split completely. I know it is temping to try and cram as much filling into them as possible, but a teaspoon really is plenty.
Don’t add too much of any liquid from the pork as you don’t want them to become too soggy.
When steaming the buns, you want the water beneath the steamer to be simmering. This is so it is just bubbling but not boiling. The steamer shouldn’t touch the water and you shouldn’t let the water evaporate completely. The buns will be plump and fluffy once cooked.
How are these Steamed Pork Buns best eaten?
I prefer to eat these steamed buns while they are still warm. The paper cases will stick to them slightly so don’t worry if this happens.
You can reheat the buns if you don’t eat them all at once. I would do this by steaming them again for a couple of minutes.
A standard sizes steamer comes with two tiers. Eight buns will fit snugly on each layer so you can double the recipe if you would like to make more buns.
These Steamed Pork Buns are great eaten as a starter or as part of a Chinese meal. They would be very tasty with my Chicken Chow Mein, Vegetable Fried Rice and Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken.
other recipes you might like
- Tenderstem Broccoli with Oyster Sauce & Garlic
- Pork & Green Bean Stir Fry
- Sticky Sweet Chilli Chicken
- Bibimbap
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Steamed Pork Buns
Deliciously soft and fluffy buns filled with tender pork. These Pork Steamed Buns are more simple than they look and worth the little bit of effort.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 90 g pulled pork
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
- ½ tsp dark soy sauce
- ¼ tsp garlic chilli sauce
For the buns
- 250 g self raising flour
- 200 ml semi-skimmed milk
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
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Chop up the pork into small pieces and add to a bowl along with the rest of the filling ingredients. Set aside
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Put the flour in a bowl and add the milk. Combine until you have a sticky dough
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Turn out onto a floured surface and roll into a long sausage shape
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Cut into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a circle approximately 5cm in diameter
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Spoon a teaspoon of pork into the centre of each circle. Fold one side of the dough over to the other and pinch to close. I then twist the dough slightly to help ensure it is tightly closed
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Put each dumpling upside down into a double layer of muffin cases (2 cases) and put in your steamer. Repeat for all 8 dumplings
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Pour a couple of centimetres of boiling water into a wok. Put the steamer over the water and steam for 12 minutes
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Once steamed, sprinkle the dumplings with sesame seeds
Recipe Notes
Best eaten while warm.
Nutritional information is given as a guide only and my vary.
Chloe says
Wow i had no idea you could make these with self raising flour, i had assumed they were yeasted! I love how the filling starts to just peek out a tad – really enticing!
Curly says
Yeah it’s so simple! That’s what I was told, it gives you a glimpse of what’s inside!
Curly says
Yeah the dough for these couldn’t be easier! Thanks Chloe 🙂
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says
These look really inviting Cat, you just want to reach out and grab one! I do love steamed buns but have only made them myself once and they are indeed easier than you think.
Curly says
Thanks Jo 🙂 Quite simple but they look like you’ve spent ages making them!
Corina Blum says
I don’t know why I haven’t made steamed buns before. I think they’re definitely the kind of thing my son would absolutely love and I know I’d like them!
Curly says
They are so tasty and a lot easier to make than some people may think. You should give them a go 🙂
Jenny Walters says
I have made steamed buns once before and they were gorgeous. I absolutely adore them. Feeling inspired Cat these look amazing!
Curly says
Thanks Jenny. They’re so fluffy aren’t they! My husband nags me to make them haha.