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Crispy Hoisin Pork Buns
These pork buns are so incredibly delicious. They’re perfectly crispy on the outside and tender and juicy in the middle. And they’re so easy to make! The dough is just a combination of self-raising flour and yoghurt. Is it anywhere near as fluffy as proper, proved bao dough? No. But it makes a great cheat’s version. The filling uses pork as a base, but you could use chicken, beef or lamb instead.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 big buns 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the dough:
- 600g self-raising flour
- 450g natural yoghurt
- plain flour, for dusting
For the filling:
- 500g pork mince (15-20% fat, any lower and the filling will be dry)
- 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 10g fresh ginger root, minced
- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 heaped tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- vegetable oil, for frying
For the dipping sauce (optional):
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 tsp chilli oil
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place the self-raising flour and natural yoghurt in a large mixing bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead until mostly smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. The dough should feel a little sticky.
- Return the dough to the mixing bowl, cover with a plate and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the filling ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Using chopsticks or your hands, mix until well-incorporated and set aside.
- Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a 10cm circle. Add around 2 teaspoons of the filling to the centre of each circle and wrap up to seal.
- Place your buns onto small pieces of greasproof paper seem-side-down, then arrange them in a single layer in a steamer basket – you may need to work in batches. Steam for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a large frying pan set over a medium-high heat. Fry the buns until both sides are golden and crispy, around 2 to 3 minutes per side, then serve hot with the dipping sauce – enjoy!
I’ve just made these and they’re absolutely delicious! They are, however, ENORMOUS. Like, four times the size of the picture above ???? Not that my lot were complaining – they loved them. I did have to steam them for a bit longer to make sure they were cooked through but 12 minutes did the job.
Having just watched the TikTok again, it mentions cornflour in the pork mix but that isn’t listed in the ingredients above. They still turned out gorgeous, however I think the cornflour is essential to stop all the beautiful flavoured juices escaping during frying (and making the oil spit!)
I will definitely be making these again. I served them with some tahini noodles, the dipping sauce and some extra hoisin for those who wanted it. I even managed to save one so I’m going to try it cold for my lunch tomorrow ????
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I’m surprised they turned out enormous but I’m so glad you all liked them nonetheless 🙂 And yes, you’re absolutely right – I updated the recipe shortly after posting it. My apologies!
Oops – apologies for using emojis that have appeared as lots of question marks
No worries 🙂
I absolutely loved these and will definitely be making again! Thank you ????
I’m so happy to hear it! Thank you so much for your review 🙂
Amazing! The family loved it!
So happy to hear it!
These were so incredible! Dough recipe is perfect, I’m looking forward to trying different fillings. Question, do you think these could be frozen and if so at what point? Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! That’s a good question. I’ll need to test it out before I can give you an answer
I made these last night for my family. I would say the flavors were delicious and the dough worked very well once I figured out how to convert from grams 🙂 if I had one suggestion it might be to try these with a little bit less dough per bun. I felt like the dough to filling ratio was a little bit off. These things were like mini calzones, and the Filling got a little bit lost in the dough. But great recipe and I will try some of your others.
Thank you for your positive feedback and suggestions! I was inspired by char siu bao, which in my experience has been much more doughy than it was filling-y, but the filling is the best part so I hear you 🙂