Baozi with Mushroom and Bok Choy

Soft baozi pillow with vegetable filling: mushrooms and Chinese cabbage. It has a flavorful base with a great combination of mushrooms and bok choy.

Compared to pork or other meat-based sandwiches, I’m a big fan of vegetable baozi. Like this one, it has a strong aroma of shiitake mushrooms and the delicious freshness of Bok Choy.

What is Baozi

Baozi has a long history in China, over 1000 years. It is the stuffed version of steamed buns, different from Mantou.

It is a national food, both as a snack and as a breakfast. My favorite way is to eat it with rice porridge or soy milk.

We have published many baozi recipes on this site, from basic Mantou ones to steamed or pan-fried ones.

There are two types of baozi: savory, such as barbecue pork buns, and sweet, including red bean buns, custard buns, and sugar buns.

Let’s learn how to make a vegetarian Baozi with mushrooms and bok choy. It does not have a greasy taste and is very refreshing. It has the rich flavor of mushrooms and the bold, zingy flavor of bok choy, with a little carrot for extra flavor.

About the casing

I use the same dough with mantou to make this vegetable baozi. This basic dough can make most Chinese steamed buns. However, I add a pinch of yeast to increase the success rate.

Dough ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Teaspoon. sugar
• 1 Teaspoon. baking powder
• 1 Teaspoon. yeasts
• 1/2 cup warm water

Ingredients for the filling

• fresh mushrooms, diced
• Chinese cabbage
• a carrot, diced
• 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 Teaspoon. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pinch of white pepper
• 1 tablespoon. light soy sauce
• 1 Teaspoon. sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon. oyster sauce

How to prepare Bok Choy Baozi

Cook the bok choy

First, heat the water until it boils, then add 1/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil and a very small pinch of salt. Blanch the bok choy for 7-8 seconds. Soak it in cold water, drain it and set it aside.

Cut the ingredients into cubes and fry them

• Dice the mushrooms and carrots. Chop the cooled bok choy and squeeze out the water.
• Add two tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan, add diced mushrooms and carrots and fry until cooked. After cooling, add chopped bok choy.
• Now we can season the filling. Add 2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. white pepper, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 1 tbsp. light soy sauce and oyster sauce. Mix them well.

Knead the dough

Add the sugar, yeast, baking powder and warm water to the flour, mixing with chopsticks until a dough forms. Knead it for a few minutes until you obtain a smooth mixture. You can also use a stand mixer and knead slowly for 8 or 10 minutes.

Then transfer the dough onto the pastry board and shape it into a round ball. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes so that the gluten can relax well.

The chef’s advice

We use a one-time proofing method, so you don’t need to proof the dough until it doubles in size. Resting only serves to soften the gluten.

Prepare some wrappers

When the dough is ready, cut it in half, roll out one half into a strip about 20 cm long, then cut it into 5-6 pieces of dough. With this quantity we can prepare 12 bok choy baozi.

Flatten each small dough first with the palm of your hand, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a thin crust. Then add a spoonful of fried filling and then fold the crust to perfectly envelop the filling. A baozi is done. Use the same procedure for the other half of the dough to form a crust and then add the filling.

Check out our How to Fold Baozi.

Steamed Baozi

Line a steamer basket with cling film or paper and place the assembled baozi inside. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Do not place the baozi too close together to avoid them sticking together.

Then, turn on the heat and steam for about 10 minutes.

Once steaming is complete, let it rest for about 5 minutes before opening the lid.

Enjoy the sandwiches while they are still warm.

Suggestions

• The fermentation time depends on the ambient temperature. At around 25°C we need to let the assembled sandwiches rest for around 30 minutes (covered). On cold days, when the room temperature drops below 10 degrees, you can put them in the oven with hot, boiling water to speed up the process.
• To get a smooth and shiny wrapper, kneading is necessary before rolling out the wrappers. I recommend re-reading the smaller dough for a few minutes to ensure the best result.
• We add a minimal amount of sugar to the dough to help fermentation, but rarely can you taste the sweetness in the wrapper.