There is so much amazing food in the world, every cuisine has its special thing to bring to the literal table. I have an affinity for food from Asia, as you’ve probably noticed if you come here regularly. This one is a total doozy. This is my recipe for gua bao.
Gua boa is an amazing Chinese dumpling. It’s made from a disc of dough that’s folded in half and then steamed. After steaming it’s filled with various delicious meats, pickled and fresh vegetables, sauces, ground nuts, or seeds.
I decided I would make three variations of the buns, to serve every need. The traditional gua bao is a version made with sourdough discard for extra flavor and a gluten-free version for those people who cannot otherwise enjoy the bready goodness that is a dumpling.
If you are just here for the recipe, you can press the button underneath to be automagically transported to the recipe:
The traditional gua bao dough is made using all-purpose flour and cornstarch for a superior fluffy texture. The dough is also enriched with sugar and oil. It’s leavened using both instant yeast and baking powder.
These are probably the fluffiest gua bao you will ever try.
Weight
Ingredient
Baker's Percentage
300g
all-purpose flour
70.6%
125g
corn starch
29.4%
25g
sugar
5.9%
7g
instant yeast
1.6%
10g
baking powder
2.4%
210g
water
49.4%
60g
oil
14.1%
5g
salt
1.2%
If you want to play around with the formula, change quantity or ingredients you can do so here in my Bread Calculator.
Sourdough Discard Gua Bao
Vitals
Total weight
742 grams
Prefermented flour
23.5%
Hydration
49.4%
Yield
8 gua bao
The Dough
The dough for these discard gua bao as sourdough starter added. Not to leaven the dough, but to bring extra taste. While the proof doesn’t make the dough rise from the starter, it has enough time to stop being sour and just bring an amazing pre-fermented taste to your bao.
If you’ve ever tried my discard brownie you know what magic ingredient dormant sourdough starter can be.
Weight
Ingredient
Baker's Percentage
200g
all-purpose flour
61.5%
125g
corn starch
38.5%
25g
sugar
7.7%
7g
instant yeast
2.2%
10g
baking powder
3.1%
110g
water
33.8%
60g
oil
18.5%
5g
salt
1.5%
200g
sourdough starter (100% hydration)
61.5%
If you want to play around with the formula, change quantity or ingredients you can do so here in my Bread Calculator.
Gluten Free Gua Bao
Vitals
Total weight
742 grams
Hydration
49.4%
Yield
8 gua bao
The Dough
I’ve tried my best to make this gluten-free version of gua bao to be as fluffy and delicious as possible. It uses four different gluten-free flours that each impart their properties that would otherwise easily have been achieved if you were using regular wheat flour.
Weight
Ingredient
Baker's Percentage
170g
corn starch
40%
85g
potato starch
20%
85g
rice flour
20%
85g
glutinous rice flour
20%
25g
sugar
5.9%
7g
instant yeast
1.6%
10g
baking powder
2.4%
210g
water
49.4%
60g
oil
14.1%
5g
salt
1.2%
If you want to play around with the formula, change quantity or ingredients you can do so here in my Bread Calculator.
The meat and fillings in this gua bao recipe
A traditional gua bao has a steamed or crispy pork belly as the filling. That is super delicious, but it takes quite a while to prepare, so I’ve opted for a lean cut of pork. The pork butt.
It gets marinated in the most insane combination of ingredients and imparts the pork with amazing flavor.
For the rest of the fillings, I am using pickled cucumbers and carrots. Fresh cilantro and chilies. A dollop of hoisin sauce and a wonderful sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.
I tell you, it’s a superior combination of ingredients.
The conclusion of this gua bao recipe
Traditional
The traditional gua bao is excellent. The huge and ultra fluffy bun works as a way to hold onto the fillings so that they don’t drop to the floor. The taste of the bun itself is pretty nondescript, but the texture is above and beyond.
Sourdough discard
The sourdough discard gua bao is simply amazing. It’s just as fluffy as the traditional ones, but on top of that, the bun itself has a very well-developed taste. It’s like how a sourdough pizza stands out among regular yeasted pizza.
Gluten-free
The gluten-free gua bao is not as fluffy as the other two, but it’s certainly alright. The taste of the bun itself is pretty anonymous, but that’s why you make those flavorful fillings.
TraditionalSourdough discardGluten free
To me, the clear winner is the sourdough bao. I love it when the bread brings something else than just texture to the table.
That being said, I’d eat both of the other two any day.
Please share this gua bao recipe on social media
This is my recipe for gua bao. If you like the recipe please consider sharing it with like-minded food lovers on social media.
If you make it and post it on Instagram, please tag me as @foodgeek.dk so I can see it. That would make me very happy.
In a microwave-safe container combine sugar and vinegar. Microwave it on full until it boils.
1 dl sugar, 1 dl vinegar
Mix it until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add a pinch of salt.
Slice the cucumber thinly and julienne the carrots.
½ cucumber, 2 carrots, julienned
Then grab two mason jars, and add half of the pickling liquid to each.
Then add the julienned carrots to one jar and the cucumber slices to the other jar.
Close the jars and put them in the fridge until you need them. They’re best after 24 hours, but give them at least one hour.
Marinade the meat
Cube the meat to bite-sized pieces.
Add all the ingredients for the marinade to a small bowl. Mix to combine.
2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 3 tbsp hoisin sauce, 3 tbsp honey, liquid, 1 tsp chinese five spice, 2 tbsp dark brown sugar, 2.5 cm ginger, finely grated, 2 cloves garlic, crushed
Put the meat in a zip lock bag. Pour the marinade over and massage the pork in the bag until the marinade covers all the meat.
500 g pork, cubed
Put the bag in the fridge for at least an hour, but 24 hours is better.
Make the dough
Choose your bao version: traditional, sourdough discard or gluten free.
To a medium bowl, add all of the dry ingredients. Mix them until they are well distributed.
300 g all-purpose flour, 125 g cornstarch, 25 g sugar, 7 g instant yeast, 10 g baking powder, 5 g salt, 200 g all-purpose flour, 125 g cornstarch, 25 g sugar, 7 g instant yeast, 10 g baking powder, 5 g salt, 170 g cornstarch, 85 g potato starch, 85 g rice flour, 85 g glutinous rice flour, 25 g sugar, 7 g instant yeast, 10 g baking powder, 5 g salt
Then add all of the wet ingredients.
210 g water, tepid, 60 ml neutral cooking oil, 110 g water, tepid, 60 ml neutral cooking oil, 200 g sourdough starter, 210 g water, tepid, 60 ml neutral cooking oil
Mix until the dough comes together. Then move the dough to the kitchen counter.
Traditional/sourdough: Knead the dough until it comes together into a supple, tacky, but not sticky dough.
Gluten-free: Knead until all of the flour has been hydrated.
Move the dough to a proofing container and let it grow to double size.
Prepare fillings
Toast sesame seeds on a warm pan until they are golden and fragrant. Add to a small bowl to cool off.
3 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
Cut two scallions on the bias and put them in a small bowl.
2 spring onions / scallions
Grab a good handful of coriander leaves or cilantro and put them in a small bowl.
1 handful coriander / cilantro
Cut two chilies finely and add them to a small bowl.
2 chilies, fresh
Put hoisin sauce in a small bowl.
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
Heat a large skillet to medium-high. Pour the entire marinating bag out onto the pan and fry the meat until it's wonderfully caramelized and cooked all the way through.
Put the fried meat aside until you assemble the gua bao. You can leave it on low heat on the stove to serve it warm.
Shape the buns
Shape the dough into a ball. Divide the ball into eight equally sized pieces.
Then shape each piece into a ball (Gluten-free: make a disc).
Prepare a baking sheet and line it with baking paper.
Then take a dough ball, put it on a flattened paper muffin line,r and squeeze it flat.
Oil the top of the dough, put a chopstick in the middle of the dough, and fold it over.
Shape the rest of the dough balls the same way.
Then cover the pan with a clean dish towel and let them rise for 30 minutes.
When the 30 minutes are up, it’s time to steam the buns.
Steam the buns
Put a bit of water at the bottom of a wok. Ensure the water does not hit the bamboo steamer when put inside.
Bring the water to a light simmer, and add the steamer basket to the wok.
Let them steam for 10 to 12 minutes.
Assemble the gua bao
To serve, put all the small bowls and the steamer basket onto the dining table and let everyone assemble their gua bao.
Grab a steamed bun and remove the liner; open the bun carefully.
Add some meat to the bao, then pickled carrots and pickled cucumbers.
Drizzle hoisin sauce on top and add a good sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.
Then top with some spring onions and some fresh chilies. Enjoy.
