This is a Mauritian-Hakka style bao bun that is commonly sold in Chinese restaurants around Mauritius. Pronounced as ‘Pao’ in Mauritius, these buns can be made with a variety of filling either savoury or sweet!
mauritian stuffed bao
Ingredients
The dough
- 360 g plain flour
- 35 g caster sugar
- 35 g vegetable oil
- 20 g full cream milk powder
- 5 g dry yeast
- 4 g baking powder
- 200 g warm water
The filling — all ingredients optional
- 200 g chicken thighs cut in pieces
- 40 g brown onion chopped
- 4 shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 2 chinese sausages (lup cheong) sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp ginger minced
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 3 soy glazed eggs/boiled eggs cut in quarters
- salt and pepper
- oil to stir fry
Instructions
The dough
- In a medium bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Set aside until the yeast activates and starts to form foams (about 5 mins).
- In a large bowl, combine the plain flour, milk powder, baking powder & sugar together. Mix the dry ingredients then add the vegetable oil and the activated yeast mixture. Mix thoroughly until a dough is formed.
- Transfer the dough on a floured working surface (apply flour as needed if dough is still sticky). Work the dough for at least 8–10 mins. Then put back in a bowl, wrap with cling film (tea towel) and let rest in a warm place for at least 30 mins. The dough should triple in size.
- *While the dough is resting, follow instructions below to get the filling ready*
- After 30mins, work the dough again for 5 minutes to remove any air bubbles.
- Portion the dough into 12 balls of 60g each. Then cover with a tea towel and let rest for 5 minutes.
The filling
- Prepare some soy glazed eggs (click here for recipe) or some hard boiled eggs and cut in quarters.
- In a frying pan, heat up some oil and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Cook on medium-low heat for 15 seconds.
- Add the chicken and cook for 1 minute on medium-high heat.
- Add the shiitake mushroom and chinese sausages and cook for another 2mins, stirring from time to time.
- Add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper. Combine everything well, then take off the heat and set aside to cool down until the dough is ready.
Assemble and cook the bao
- Take 1 ball of dough and flatten it to 5mm thickness with a rolling pin.
- Put some of the filling mixture in the middle of the dough together with 1 slice of egg. Gently pinch the sides of the dough together to seal.
- Place the bao on a piece of baking paper and cook in a steamer for 15-18mins.
Video
tips
These bao can be savoury or sweet, get creative and make up your own filling!
I’ve tried many paow recipe and by far this is one of the easiest and less time consuming.
Thank you so much for your feedback! Much appreciated 😉