Crispy pan buns with tofu and vegetable filling – Shanghai Pan Fried Buns with vegan filling. Eat in or take away, the crispy pan-fried rolls are crispy and golden on the outside, fluffy and airy on the inside. Inside with a hearty and juicy filling of tofu, beans, carrot and coriander. Serve this popular Chinese dim sum snack at home with a homemade soy dip, spicy chili oil, or just sweet and sour chili sauce.
What are Shanghai Tofu Crispy Pan Buns?
The fried bun, also known as shengjian bao or baozi, is a popular Chinese breakfast or snack (dim sum) between meals. It is a specialty from the city of Shanghai. These buns are first fried to give them the golden and crunchy bottom. Then simply steam them again to cook the filling inside, allowing them to develop their soft and fluffy texture at the core. In the original, they are often filled with minced meat and spring onions and covered with a yeast dough. Today we fill the yeastless dough with a simple vegan filling made from beans, creamy tofu, carrot and coriander.
Tips on how to fold the crispy buns.
Add a tablespoon of filling to the center of the rolled out dough. Press the edges of the dough up and enclose the filling. You can close the filling by repeatedly folding the edges together in small intervals until the opening closes. It takes a bit of practice, but after the second you’ll get the hang of it. 😉
Place the finished buns, sealed side down (the top should be the smooth side) on a tray or plate lined with parchment paper. Cover them with a tea towel and let them rest for a few minutes.
if you like our crispy pancakes with tofu filling, you might also be interested in these dishes:
- Brussels sprouts tofu stir-fry with miso sauce
- Jackfruit Curry with Sweet Potatoes
- Hasselback potatoes as an accompaniment to the vegan burger “Pulled Jack”
- Potato wedges with cheese and jalapenos dip
- Wholemeal wrap with fried tofu and ginger peanut sauce
- Zucchini potato fritters quick and super crispy
Crispy pancakes with tofu
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough for about 10 pieces:
- 300 G flour
- 175 ml hot water about 90 °C
- prize kosher salt*
Filling:
- 250 G Green beans / string beans
- 400 G tofu
- 1 carrots
- small Bunch of coriander
- 3 tsp Sesame oil* roasted
- 1 tsp kosher salt*
- ½ tsp Pepper*
dip:
- Soy sauce*
- sesame black/white*
- 1-2 spring onions
anything else:
- vegetable oil to fry
Instructions
Prepare dough:
- Mix the dry ingredients such as flour and salt well in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the flour and pour in the hot water. Mix everything with a spoon or the food processor with dough hook until you have a smooth dough. If the batter is too dry, add more water one tablespoon at a time.
- Knead the dough for 10 to 12 minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for about 30 minutes.
The bun filling:
- While the dough is resting, use a linen towel to squeeze the excess liquid out of the tofu.
- Chop the green beans and toss them in the pan with 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. About 2 to 4 minutes so they soften a bit.
- Peel and coarsely grate the carrot.
- Rinse the coriander, shake dry and roughly chop.
- Mash the tofu with a fork or puree in a blender.
- Mix the green beans with the tofu, grated carrots, coriander, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Shape the mixture into 10 dumplings of about the same size.
Fill buns:
- Roll out the dough on a floured work surface and divide into 10 equal portions.
- Form small balls from the dough and then roll them out into a circle (about 11 to 12 cm in diameter). The edges should be rolled out a little thinner than the middle.
- Place the flatbread in your left hand (if you are right-handed) and put a ball of the filling in the middle.
- Include the filling in the dough. This works well if you use your right hand to fold the edge of the dough tighter and closer together, about 1 cm apart, until the opening closes over the filling.
- Moisten the bottom side with some water and gently press into a mixture of white and black sesame seeds.
- Repeat the process with the remaining portions.
roast buns:
- Heat a nonstick skillet with a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Place the buns in the pan, sesame-side down (making sure they don’t touch each other).
- Fry the buns until golden brown. Now turn the buns over and fill the pan with water (about 5 mm high). Cover and cook over low heat until all the water has evaporated and the underside is golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Prepare dip:
- Rinse the spring onions and cut into fine rings.
- Mix soy sauce with spring onions and some roasted sesame seeds.
- Serve the filled rolls with dip…
Nutrition
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