BBQ Pork Steamed Buns

These BBQ pork steamed buns are so soft and generously filled with sweet, savory, and juicy BBQ pork! The doughs are easy to work with so you can even make them into cute piggies <3

As a child who grew up in Japan, one of my favorite snacks was BBQ pork steamed buns. They were widely available in any Japanese convenience stores, and I especially enjoyed the warm buns in cold winter. After I moved to the US, BBQ pork steamed buns became much harder to find so I decided to make my own.

What are steamed buns?

Steamed buns are originated in China^[1]. Also known as bao, a steamed bun is a warm and soft bun traditionally filled with a pork mixture.

Fillings for Steamed Buns

Although the pork is traditionally the main ingredient for the fillings, the steamed buns can be filled with anything you like:) In Japan, they also commonly come in fillings such as curry, sweet red bean, and even pizza sauce.

Since the bun itself doesn’t have a strong flavor, depending on what you fill it with, the steamed buns can be savory or sweet.

How to steam BBQ pork buns without a bamboo basket steamer

Ideally, the steamed buns should be steamed in a bamboo basket steamer. It allows you to cook more steamed buns at once and would give off a subtle woody scent.

But if you don’t have a bamboo basket at home, NO PROBLEM! There are other ways to cook the steamed buns without it. Heck, I don’t own it, either LOL.

I use my stainless steel basket steamer that came with a large pot. Just remember to cover the lid with a kitchen towel to prevent condensation so that the water doesn’t drip on the buns while cooking.

If you don’t own any steamers at all, you can try this pan method:

Ingredients for the BBQ Pork Buns

For the BBQ pork

• 1 pound pork shoulder

Marinade

• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil

Sauce

• 1 cup diced onions
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the buns

• 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Pink gel food coloring
• 1/4 teaspoon charcoal powder

Instructions

For the filling

1. For the BBQ pork, in a medium bowl, whisk marinade ingredients until well combined. Add the pork shoulder, and toss to make sure the pork is evenly coated.
2. Cover, refrigerate and let marinate for at least 3 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place a wire rack on top.
5. Remove pork from marinade; reserve the marinade for basting.
6. Place pork on a wire rack, and pour water into the baking tray. Roast for 25 minutes, flip halfway through, and baste with the remaining marinade. The pork is done when the internal temperature is at least 145 degrees.
7. Remove pork from the oven, and wrap it with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes before dicing it into small pieces. Set aside.
8. For the sauce, saute all the sauce ingredients in a frying pan. Once the onion is cooked, add the diced pork into the sauce and mix well. Take it off from the heat then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the buns

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, baking powder, and sugar.
2. Stir in water and oil until most of the dough comes together.
3. Take ⅓ of the dough (about 200g) and set it aside. This is for the colored portion.
4. Turn out the main white dough on a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl then cover. Let it proof for 1 hour or until double in size.
5. For the rest of the dough, divide it into 2 portions – one quarter-size round dough (about 10-15 g) and the rest. Mix in pink gel food coloring to the larger portion of the dough until well blended. Then knead in ¼ teaspoon of charcoal powder to the quarter-size dough, until well combined. Next, place each dough in separate oiled bowls, cover, and let it proof for 1 hour or until double in size.

6. After the first proofing, divide the plain white dough into 8 pieces (about 50 – 60 grams each).

7. Then form into a ball, flatten the outer perimeter and add a spoonful of the BBQ pork sauce into the center. Pull the edges up over the meat and reform the dough into a tight ball. Repeat for all 8 pieces.

8. Grab some pink dough for the ears and nose and black dough for the eyes. Stick them to the formed buns with a dab of water. Use a back of a toothpick to form nostrils. 

9. Place each bun onto a piece of parchment paper and let it proof for 15 minutes before steaming.

10. While the buns proof for the final time, heat up some water in your steamer. *I don’t have a bamboo steamer so I used a stainless steel steamer. If you do as well, cover the glass lid with a clean tea towel to absorb any condensation and then place it on top of the stainless steel steamer.

11. Make sure the water is boiling before adding the buns with parchment paper on the bottom. Steam for 12 minutes.

12. Turn off the heat and let the buns rest in the steamer for 2 minutes before serving. If you use a stainless steel steamer, repeat this step until all the buns are steamed.

If you like this BBQ pork steamed bun recipe, you may also like:

• Winnie the Pooh Mushi Pan – Steamed Cake
• How To Make Rilakkuma Pull-Apart Bread
• Christmas Wreath Bread with Spinach Dip Stuffing