Photos by L.G. Patterson
I have known Chef Jina Yoo and Chef Dennis Clay for 20 years. I’ve known Chef Jina from her fabulous restaurants, Jina Yoo’s Asian Bistro and Le Bao Asian Eatery, and Chef Dennis because he has worked at most of the well-known, high-end restaurants in town since the late 1990s and he is currently the general manager at Le Bao. Both are passionate chefs with excellent techniques. When thinking about bringing in some outside chefs to share their experiences and talents in these articles, Chef Jina and Chef Dennis quickly made my short list.
I wanted to know the secrets of Jina’s restaurant, Le Bao. If you have had bao or steamed buns, you know how delicious and addictive they can be. Jina and Dennis showed me how to make the dough and roll, stuff, steam or fry the buns.
Baozi, or bao buns, are made with a yeasted dough and traditionally stuffed with highly seasoned braised or ground meats, or vegetables, and sometimes served with a dipping sauce. In addition to their delicious ramen, Le Bao serves some traditional bao buns, but also some with Jina’s unique, personal twist. Some of their creations are Bulgogi beef, pulled pork, fried shrimp, Philly cheesesteak, Rocky Bao-boa (a pizza-inspired bao bun with pepperoni — one of my favorites from the photoshoot). In addition to savory, they have some delicious sweet creations — apple pie, Oreo cheesecake and mochi, just to name a few.
As I am sure you can tell from the photos, Jina, Dennis and I had a lot of fun in the photoshoot. We made one big batch of dough and almost a dozen different bao buns. You can take this recipe (the actual one that Le Bao uses), along with some creativity to make your own unique bao bun creations.
Bao Dough
Ingredients
- 498 grams water about 2 cups
- 17 grams yeast about 2 tablespoons
- 907 grams all-purpose flour about 6 and 1/2 cups
- 45 grams sugar 1/3 cup
- 17 grams kosher salt 1 tablespoon
- 18 grams baking powder 2 and 1/2 cups
Instructions
- Heat water to 110 degrees. Add yeast and water to a stand mixer bowl, agitate gently, and let sit for 10-15 minutes to activate. You should see the top covered in bubbles.
- Separately add the remaining ingredients, but don’t mix it. Turn the mixer on low and add the bloomed yeast water in three stages while mixing (you can also mix by hand in a large bowl). Allow the dough to form and come together, about seven minutes or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a warm, damp towel and allow the dough to rise for 20 minutes.
- Punch down the dough and form it into golf ball-size pieces. Allow to rest. Using a rolling pin, flatten the first piece and roll from the outside to the center. Rotate a quarter turn and repeat until the dough is one-quarter inch thick in the center and the edges are slightly thinner.
To Stuff
- Place about a half cup of cool filling into the center of the dough. Place the dough in your hand and pull one side to the top. To create the pleated closure, create a half-inch pleat at an angle folding to the center, then pinch to close. Go the same direction to the center, overlapping the previous pleat, and continue until the top is closed. Squeeze and twist slightly to seal.
To Steam
- Have a bamboo or steamer basket steaming. Use parchment paper witha few slits cut in it or oil the bottom of the bun slightly. Place the buns inthe steamer, making sure to leave about one and a half inches betweenthem to leave room for the buns to expand. Steam for nine minutes.Remove and allow to cool slightly before eating.
To Fry
- Once the bun is stuffed press the top down slightly — this will aid in cooking uniformly.
- Preheat a saute pan over medium-low heat, and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the bun and cook until golden brown, flip and repeat. The whole process should take about eight to ten minutes, so the outside is fully cooked and the inside is cooked all the way through.
- Once the bao bun has cooled slightly, you can eat it as is or serve it with a sweet or savory dipping sauce.
