Bapao is a steamed bun with a filling of beef, chicken, minced meat or roast pork, mixed with vegetables and herbs in a spicy sweet sauce. Sometimes the Chinese delicacy is referred to as “bun bakpao”, after the eponymous # 1 hit by the rap duo The Opposites from 2009. Gluten-free flour is ideal for the preparation of baopao, it is finely ground and very suitable for the soft, airy bapao dough. The special thing about a bapao bread is the fact that it is steamed, in a special steamer, or in a colander, over boiling water, over high heat. The originally Chinese dish can be prepared in many different ways, below a successful basic recipe, suitable for both people with celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and people without these complaints. The basic recipe for the dough is very suitable for steaming or baking tasty white buns / balls in the oven.
Ingredients for the dough
Recipe for approx. 6 pieces
- 500 grams of gluten-free flour, eg Twello’s white, gluten-free bread mix (keep some extra flour on hand, for kneading after rising and dusting the countertop) If the buns do not need to be gluten-free, you can use regular bread flour, or special bapao flour from the toko, which itself has a layer gluten content.
- 350 ml of water
- bag of (dry) yeast, approx. 7 grams
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 4 teaspoons of sugar
Ingredients for the filling
- about 350 grams of chicken fillet or minced meat
- 4 tablespoons (gluten-free) soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- small leek / spring onion or just a day out
- possibly sambal and garlic
- as desired other oriental herbs / vegetables such as lemongrass (sereh), cumin (djinten) or ve-tsin
Other special supplies
- clear cling film
- steamer or as large a pan with lid and colander as possible
Method of preparation dough
Start by preheating the oven (50 degrees) for the dough to rise.
Combine the flour, water, salt, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl and use and blend until smooth. Place the mixing bowl in the preheated oven (the plastic can withstand 50 degrees) and let it rise for at least an hour.
Then remove the mixing bowl from the oven and knead the risen dough vigorously with your hands into a ball that is no longer sticky and falls off your hand (use the extra flour that is kept behind you)
Roll 6 round balls of this mixture between the palms of your hands.
Baking white rolls / buns
If you only want to prepare white dots, the above dough can be used to bake white bread rolls. In that case, make about ten balls and bake them in the oven until golden brown.
Preparation method of filling
Brown the diced chicken breast, or optionally, the minced meat or other meat in a little butter in a frying pan. Then fry the finely chopped vegetables. Add the soy sauce, sugar and curry powder to it. This basic recipe can be varied endlessly, for example, sambal can be added for a spicy flavor, or a few scoops of peanut sauce to give the filling a satay flavor.
A variety of oriental spices are available in the various Asian shops, which give the filling different, typically oriental flavors.
Preparation of sandwiches
Flatten the six dough balls to a thickness of about half a centimeter and place a scoop of the filling from the frying pan in the middle. Then pull the dough edges up along the filling so that the bread ball is closed. Roll in the palms of your hands again into beautiful round balls and wrap them with a piece of transparent foil, which remains around the bun during the entire steaming process. It prevents the buns from sticking together and is easy to remove after steaming.
Steam preparation
If you have a steamer, fill the bottom part with water and heat it on the heat source.
If you are not in possession of a steamer, a large pan in which a metal colander is hung, covered with a lid, will suffice. Fill the pan with a layer of water and heat it over high heat to create a lot of steam.
As soon as the water in the pan has boiled, the buns can be placed in the steamer or colander and then turned into tasty baopao buns in more than 45 minutes. Keep an eye on the process, occasionally pick a small piece of the bread dough to taste and watch the progress. As soon as the bread becomes fluffy and is no longer sticky, the rolls are ready for consumption. Make sure all this time for steam to develop in the pan and that the lid is on the pan. The colander should hang over the steaming water and not in it. Make sure that the pan does not boil dry, top up the water if necessary.
Freeze and thaw
Sandwiches that are not eaten straight away can go straight into the freezer, including the cling film that is wrapped around them.
If you want to consume them at a later time, they do not need to be defrosted, two minutes at full power in the microwave is sufficient, remove the foil and enjoy!
A little more about Broodje Bakpao, Sandwich Warm Vlees …. from The Opposites
Bakpao sandwich is the title song of the third TV series New Kids from 2009, about the experiences of an inappropriate bunch of fringe characters in the Brabant village of Maaskantje, who regularly feasted on a “bakpao sandwich”, which was sold in the local snack shack. The term bakpao sandwich was picked up by the young people at the time and a common cry in the street. The Opposites, consisting of Gers Pardoel and the Moroccan rapper Sef ended up in first place in the Single top 100 with the song. The New Kids released two cinema films in the wake of their TV success: New Kids Turbo and New Kids Nitro.