Difficulty: Medium
Makes 12 large buns
If you’ve ever hit up a yum cha restaurant, you would know that the BBQ pork bun is a menu staple. As a seasoned yum cha eater, I’ve sampled a few vegan versions in my time but thought it was about time to make my own. I’ve always been a fan of using jackfruit as a pulled pork substitute and thought I would use it as an ingredient in this dish. These buns are quite large but you could always adapt depending on the occasion.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 2 x 550 gram cans young jackfruit in brine (do not get ripe jackfruit in syrup!)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1/4 cup chopped spring onions
- 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
Method
- Make the dough by first whisking together the caster sugar and warm water in a large bowl.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, whisk in the dry yeast and allow to sit for 5 minutes, then add the baking powder.
- Next, sift in the plain flour and salt before bringing together into a dough with your hands. Once a nice, wet ball of dough is formed, cover the ball with a tea towel and allow to rise for an hour.
- While the dough is rising, make your filling by first draining the jackfruit before breaking the pieces apart and squeezing out excess moisture. Discard any seeds or particularly hard pieces.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large wok before adding the garlic, ginger and jackfruit. Stir in the wok for a few minutes and as the jackfruit begins to soften, add the spring onion and remaining ingredients.
- Cook for a few more minutes before allowing to simmer for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Once the dough has risen, lightly knead into a smooth ball before cutting into 12 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball before using a rolling pin to roll into 18cm discs.
- Place 3 tablespoons of the filling into the middle of each disc before bringing the dough together at the top and giving a little twist.
- Add each of the buns to a steamer lined with baking paper and steam for 20-30 minutes until the dough is cooked through.
- Serve immediately with soy sauce and chilli sauce.
