bbq tofu bao buns. homemade eats.

bbq tofu bao buns

I have only delicious memories of bao buns. Ridiculously delicious. These little buns of joy are a doughy goodness filled with the most savory fillings. Saucy BBQ pork nestled inside sweet, fluffy dough. Sometimes it would take multiple bites to find that pocket of tastiness within the puff of soft doughy outside, but I was ok with that. I actually loved that. The dough, though sweet, works surprisingly well with the salty meaty insides, creating a balanced little ball of flavor.

When I was young, my family would meet together in San Francisco for Easter, Russian style, and cruise to hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurants for dim sum brunch. I would watch as carts rolled by wrinkled, seasoned Chinese women passed by piled with little round bamboo boxes. Soon, our table would be covered with these bamboo boxes, each one a surprise dumpling sample. Little translucent dumplings filled with shrimp and pork and beef and mystery meats galore. Some with veggies, mushrooms and scallions, some golden fried and others steamed to soft perfection. And I always awaited to open that little bamboo box filled with bao.

Now when I go out for dim sum as a vegetarian however, I find a much smaller array of savory dough balls. After translating the broken English of the server in Oakland's Chinatown, I find only one or two oddly sweet non-meaty bao, still delicious, but not the same as those scrumptious memories. So here I adapt a meaty BBQ pork bao bun recipe into a veggie tofu remix, still with those distinct dim sum flavors. The filling is more substantive in these small buns, but you can double the dough recipe to make thicker doughy outsides if you like less filling. I also used white/whole wheat flour instead of white flour just to add a bit more nutrition without subtracting any flavor. Though the original recipe uses melted butter in the dough, I bet you could try olive or canola oil with similar results for a vegan option.

The results were fantastic! The dough was spot on, and the fillings, though slightly different in texture, had a balanced savory taste. The recipe is somewhat time intensive, but its great for making a large batch at one time, so try doubling or tripling the recipe. You can freeze the pre-cooked buns and then steam them later, adding 5 more minutes to steaming cook time. These are great for a grab-and-go-lunch or for a Chinese appetizer for dinner, but to get the real dim sum experience, eat them for brunch on a special occasion with other steamed or fried dumplings. Enjoy!

Instead of pork, I used firm tofu along with scallions, a traditional bao ingredient.

these soft little dough balls expand in the steamer, so make sure to give them some space! Be sure to put  a square of wax paper underneath each one to prevent them from sticking to the steamer. 

Recipe time!

BBQ Tofu Bao Buns (Vegetarian)

Ingredients
Dough:
1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water (between 105 to 110 degrees F)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup flour (I used white/whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp melted butter or canola oil

Filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp black bean sauce

8oz firm tofu, chopped roughly
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp bbq sauce of choice
1/4 cup minced cilantro (optional)

Process

To make dough, combine yeast and water in a small bowl and add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp flour. Mix until well combined. Cover with a kitchen towel and let stand in a warm place until frothy, about 15 minutes.

Once the mixture is frothy, mix remaining flour and sugar in a large bowl and add the yeast mixture and butter/oil. Using a wooden spoon, mix to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Place dough in a large oiled bowl, cover and let stand in a warm place, like a lightly warmed oven, until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

To make the filling, heat oil in a wok or frying pan over medium heat and fry the garlic and ginger until aromatic, for about 1 minute. Add sesame oil, hoisin sauce, soy sauce black bean sauce, and bbq sauce and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the tofu and carrots and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Mix cornstarch with 1 tbsp water and add to pan. Bring to a boil and stir until sauce thickens, for about 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in scallions. Allow to cool completely

Punch down the dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide dough into 16 pieces and roll or press into 2-3 inch circles. Keep the dough covered with a damp towel while you work to fill the dough circles with 2 tsp of filling each. Gather edges together, twist to seal and cover with a kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cut out 16 squares of parchment paper to keep the buns from sticking to the steamer. Place buns seam side down onto the parchment paper. Fill a steamer pot or wok with about 3 inches of water and bring to a boil. Working in batches, arrange buns in steamer so that they have about 1/2 inch between buns. Place over pot or wok and cover, steaming for 15 minutes. If the water starts reducing, add more between batches. Carefully remove buns once cooked. Serve plain or with soy sauce or hoisin sauce.

These little buns may look bland on the outside, but are filled with warmed, smokey fillings that are just the best! And veg too!

noodly thai tom kha soup. homemade eats.

noodly thai tom kha soup

I went to a decent thai restaurant in Berkeley shortly after finals were over and done with (hooray!), and ordered family-style with my 5 friends. Nothing too extravagant. My friend was debating between ordering tom kha soup or another noodle dish. After much persuasion on behalf of this creamy, spicy coconut soup, she chose the noodles and the soup. Good choice. When the soup came out, the aroma of citrusy spice filled our table and memories of hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurants filled my mind. I remember a tiny restaurant, with never many customers, but the most delicious tom kha soup. With a small flame warming the steamy soup atop an elaborate donut-shaped soup vessel, the soup stayed hot and ready for devouring. It is a soup with punch, with flavor, and with a creamy balance of coconut to mellow out the palate. The soup in Berkeley was half that delicious, but it was still incredibly tasty. This soup just doesn't fail. 

I was determined to make it right. With all the exotic spices, like galangal and kaffir lime leaves, I was ready to do it just like the old restaurant that is now unfortunately, closed. After briefly searching health food and asian grocery stores in my area, I decided to use what I had to make my own version of this warming, flavorful soup for a cold New Years supper. I found fresh lemongrass, but not galangal or kaffir lime leaves. In my way of cooking, making substitutions and alterations is normal and quite welcomed. It takes you on a new path, still connected to the starting destination, but moving forward to an unknown taste experience. Experimenting is what cooking is about. Especially when you can't find galangal and kaffir lime leaves in Orange County. It happens. 

So, instead, I plucked off some lime leaves from our little lime tree in the backyard. Lemon leaves could probably work too. Lime zest helps brighten the lime flavor in the soup. If you need more lime flavor, add more lime juice at the end. Instead of galangal, i used fresh ginger root and 1 tsp dried galangal, found in the depths of our spice drawer. You could probably used dried ginger in a worst case scenario. I also added soba noodles, a very untraditional thing to do. But very delicious. If you want a heartier meal on its own, you can add the noodles, but for a starter or side, you can omit them if you prefer. They are very good vessel for coconutty broth though, and quite tasty!

Results of all of this alteration? Noodly goodness! I used a very spicy serrano chile instead of thai chilies, another amendment that ended with a fiery result. I kept the seeds in, not thinking that it would add too much more, but man, that little chili slapped me in the face. In a good, spicy way, of course. If you can find a nicer, calmer Thai chili, go for it, but add any type of chili that you think you can handle. The spicy, zesty flavor was a perfect way to cleanse all of 2012's holiday bingeing, bringing in the new year with flavor, pizzaz and those spicy face slaps. Now i'm ready for 2013. Bring on the spice. 

Here we go:

First step adds the coconut milk, vegetable broth, and spicy aromatics to extract the pungent flavors into the soup broth. 

Heat up the oil to saute the tofu. Make sure the oil is nice and hot!

Saute the tofu until browned on the outside.

Traditional tom kha does not have noodles in it, but I added some soba noodles for a heartier meal.

Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. Enjoy!

Recipe time!

Thai Coconut Noodle Soup

Adapted from vegetarianrecipesandcooking.com

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4 dinner servings; 6-8 side servings

Ingredients:

2 14 oz. cans coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
8 kaffir lime leaves, or 8 regular lime leaves and 2 tsp lime zest
3 stalks lemongrass, white parts only, halved and cut into 2 inch pieces
6 1/2"- thick slices of fresh galangal, or fresh ginger and 1 tsp dried galangal
2 black peppercorns

1 package firm tofu, cut into bite-size cubes

2 tbsp olive or canola oil

16 oz. oyster or enoki mushrooms, sliced
1 Thai chili, diced very small
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

3 tbsp lime juice

3 oz soba noodles

cilantro for garnish

lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

Add coconut milk, stock, galangal/ginger, lime leaves, lemongrass, and peppercorns to a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer on low (with the cover on) for 30 minutes. 

While the broth is simmering, heat up the oil in a large skillet at medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the tofu and saute until browned on the edges, about 8-10 minutes.

Strain solids through a sieve to remove aromatics, if desired, and return to pot. Add mushrooms, onion, tofu, chili, soy sauce, and cilantro. Simmer for 10 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked through. Add the soba noodles and cook for 5-7 minutes until noodles are tender. Add lime juice, stir, and serve.

Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. 

Tips about lemongrass: You can find fresh lemongrass in most health food or asian grocery stores. We found ours near the fresh ginger. Look for stalks that are lemony-green on the lower stalk near the bulb and darker green towards the end of the stalk. To prepare, strip off the papery outer layers to get to the soft, fleshier layers inside. Cut off the lower end of the bulb. You can use the green parts for the soup and strain it out later if you like, or cut lemongrass up until the woody green stalk and discard/compost the rest.