This recipe is part of our collection of Everyday Chinese Meals. Sign up for our newsletter to receive family-friendly activity, recipe and craft ideas throughout the year!
It’s the fall of 2011 and wife and I are exploring Shanghai on a daylong walk across the city. Compelled by online reviews, we seek out Yang’s Fried Dumplings on Huanghe Street, where we discover a local specialty, the pan-fried pork buns known as sheng jian bao.
This moment, waiting patiently in a queue of customers out the door before happily feasting on piping hot buns with juice running down our chins, became an instantly unforgettable travel memory. It’s stored in my mind right between pide at a rooftop restaurant in Istanbul and river clams on plastic stools in Siem Reap.
Because I wasn’t in the habit of making homemade baozi at the time, I filed my pork bun memory away for retelling with friends and, hopefully, a future return trip. Recently, however, I was browsing old photos from our trip and seeing that morning in Shanghai brought back to life inspired me to try and recreate those great buns today.
Sheng jian bao combine a simple yeast dough with a flavorful pork filling, fried and then steamed in a large flat pan to create a mouthful that’s simultaneously chewy, crispy and juicy. I’m happy to report that you can easily create a version at home that transports you to the streets of Shanghai.
Though sheng jian bao are typically eaten for breakfast in Shanghai, they make an ideal afternoon snack or party appetizer here in the United States, given the amount of time required for the wrapper dough to rise. Past that 90 minute investment, you only really 15 minutes to wrap the buns and another 15 minutes to cook them.
Here’s how to make Shanghai pan-fried pork buns, step-by-step. The detailed tutorial with pictures and directions is at the bottom of the page.
Your turn! What tips can you share from your family’s recipe? Want to ask a question before you start cooking? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!
Shanghai Pan-Fried Pork Buns (Sheng Jian Bao) Recipe
Makes: 20 Buns | Prep Time: 2 Hours | Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ingredients
Dough:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 cup water, plus extra as needed
Filling:
12 ounces ground pork
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
3 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chicken stock, plus extra as needed
Garnish:
white sesame seeds
1 green onion, finely chopped
Directions
1. Combine the dry dough ingredients in a bowl, then drizzle in the water and stir until clumps form. Add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, while kneading by hand, until a smooth and elastic dough forms. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside to rise for 90 minutes.
2. Combine all the filling ingredients, except the chicken stock, in a bowl. Drizzle in the chicken stock 1 tablespoon at a time, while mixing by hand, until the filling can no longer retain liquid. This may use all the chicken stock or slightly more. Refrigerate until the dough is done rising.
3. When the dough is ready, knead by hand for 30 seconds, then divide into 20 equal pieces. Working with a small rolling pin, flatten each piece into a 4″ circular bun wrapper that’s about 1/8″ thick.
4. Place a rounded tablespoon of filling in the center of a bun wrapper held in the palm of your hand. Turning the bun as you work, fold the sides of the wrapper upward to the center, firmly pinching 1/2″ pleats as you go. After a full revolution, twist the top of the completed bun closed with moistened fingers. Complete all twenty buns, then allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
5. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the buns in the pan for 2 minutes, then add water, reduce the heat to low and cover to steam the buns for 10 minutes until all the water has evaporated. In a 10″ pan, use 1/3 cup of water for every 5 buns you cook.
6. Once the buns are finished steaming, remove from the pan, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, then serve immediately with black vinegar or chili oil dipping sauce.
Step-By-Step Tutorial
Start by gathering your ingredients. You’ll need flour, yeast and sugar for the dough, while the filling requires ground pork, green onions, ginger, chicken stock and few staple sauces. When you’re at the store, ask for the fattiest ground pork possible, which will help your buns come out juicy.
Combine the dry dough ingredients in a bowl, then drizzle in the water and stir until clumps form.
Add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, while kneading by hand, until a smooth and elastic dough forms. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside to rise for 90 minutes.
Combine all the filling ingredients, except the chicken stock, in a bowl.
Drizzle in the chicken stock 1 tablespoon at a time, while mixing by hand, until the filling can no longer retain liquid. This may use all the chicken stock or slightly more. Refrigerate until the dough is done rising.
After 90 minutes, the dough should have roughly doubled in size.
When the dough is ready, knead by hand for 30 seconds, then divide into 20 equal pieces.
Working with a small rolling pin, flatten each piece into a 4″ circular bun wrapper that’s about 1/8″ thick.
Place a rounded tablespoon of filling in the center of a bun wrapper held in the palm of your hand. Turning the bun as you work, fold the sides of the wrapper upward to the center, firmly pinching 1/2″ pleats as you go.
After a full revolution, twist the top of the completed bun closed with moistened fingers.
Complete all twenty buns, then allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the buns to the pan.
After frying the buns for 2 minutes, add water, reduce the heat to low and cover to steam the buns for 10 minutes until all the water has evaporated. In a 10″ pan, use 1/3 cup of water for every 5 buns you cook.
Once the buns are finished steaming, remove from the pan, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Serve immediately with black vinegar or chili oil dipping sauce.
Leave a Reply