Steamed pork bun, or 肉包 (roù baò), is a breakfast food originating from China. Often paired with a soup, these soft and savory pork-filled buns have made their way into many other cuisines around the world.

Coming from a Chinese background, my grandmother often made these delicious buns in large quantities for my younger sister and me to have in the morning before school. This dish has become a staple within our household as it is convenient to prepare once made.

Prep time: around two hours
Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients (makes around 16):
Flour 500g
Yeast 6g
Sugar 10g
300g warm water
25g lard or oil

500g ground pork shoulder
65g diced green onion
25g soy sauce
25g oyster sauce
15g sugar
10g dark soy sauce
5g MSG

Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and clear out a little hole in the center of the flour.

Place the yeast, sugar, and warm water in the hole and start mixing the contents inside the mixing bowl. After mixing for a minute or two, incorporate the lard into the dough.

Knead for around 10-12 minutes or until the dough doesn’t spring back when you press a hole into it. Rest until around doubled in size.

Add oil to a pan on low and cook green onions till fragrant. Add 250g of the ground pork and mix thoroughly with the green onions until cooked.

Once mixed and cooked, add soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, dark soy sauce, and MSG. Mix well and transfer to a bowl to chill. Once chilled, add in the rest of the ground pork and mix well.

Break dough into 70g pieces. To wrap the bun, grab a piece of the dough, flatten it out and place it in your left hand. Put two to three spoons of the filling inside in the center.

Mark the starting place with the thumb of the right hand and pinch the edge of the dough. Your thumb should be on the inside of the dough and your pointer finger on the outside. Begin to fold the edge over itself counterclockwise, pinching with your pointer finger. Move the thumb slowly in the process.

Cut out pieces of parchment paper to place the buns and steam for 15-20 minutes.

For extras, place in the freezer. Steam for 15-20 minutes to heat up and they’ll be ready to eat.