Eva Pau's Asian Kitchen30 Minutes

Steamed Bao Buns with Five Spice Pork Belly

Name: Steamed Bao Buns with Five Spice Pork Belly
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: Bao Buns:; (Makes approximately 8); 240g Low Gluten Wheat Flour ( I use Mantou brand but regular plain flour will work.); 1 tbsp sugar; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp baking powder; 1 tsp yeast; 1 tbsp vegetable oil (plus extra for greasing); 100 ml warm water; 50 ml warm milk; Five Spice Pork Belly:; 400g Deboned raw pork belly strips, chopped into 2 inch / 5 cm pieces; 1 ½ inch piece of ginger (10g) – thinly sliced; 2 pieces of cinnamon stick; 2 pieces of star anise; Braising Sauce:; 1 tbsp light soy; 1 tbsp dark soy; 1 tbsp of Chu Hou paste; 1 tbsp Shao Xing Wine (Chinese cooking wine); 40g rock sugar or (regular brown or white sugar will work); 650ml water

Eva PauFrom the series · Eva Pau's Asian Kitchen

30 min totalServes 4Easy

Time30 min

Serves4

SkillEasy

ShowEva Pau's Asian Kitchen

Method

Start with the bao buns. Add all the ingredients into a food mixer, and mix with the dough hook for 3 minutes until combined. Then knead it on a floured surface for 3-4 minutes until smooth. Roll the dough out to about 3 mm in height. Use a round cutter or pint glass to cut out round shapes, an 11 cm cutter will make 8 bao buns. Brush the surface with vegetable oil and then fold that side in - this is so they won’t stick too much. Place them on a lined baking tray or plate. Cover them with a tea towel and leave to prove for an one and half to two hours, they will double in size.

Meanwhile get started on your fillings. Heat the wok, add some oil, and when hot, add the ginger pieces and the pork belly. Fry the pork belly on both sides until it is slightly brown in colour. Browning it will add flavour.

Next, add the cinnamon, star anise and stir for a minute or two.

Combine all the braising liquid ingredients and then add it to the pan. Simmer on medium heat with a lid on for 50-55 minutes, until the liquid has mostly evaporated and you are left with a sticky dark sweet sauce coating the pork belly.

When your bao buns have proved, place them into a steamer - still on the grease proof paper - and let them steam for 8 minutes and then rest for 5 minutes. A bamboo or pot steamer will work.

Fill and eat!

Cook's notes

Give the dough its full hour and a half to two hours to prove so it roughly doubles. Under-proved dough steams up dense rather than cloud-soft.
Brush oil on the fold before you close each bun, otherwise the two sides stick together in the steamer and won't open.
Brown the pork belly properly on both sides at the start, it's where a lot of the depth comes from before the braise.
Let the braising liquid reduce right down until it's sticky and coating the pork. If it's still watery the filling will be thin and the sweetness won't have concentrated.
Rest the buns for five minutes after steaming before lifting the lid. A sudden cold draught can make them wrinkle and collapse.

Serve with Classic garnishes lift the richness: quick-pickled cucumber or carrot, fresh coriander, sliced spring onion and a little chilli or hoisin. A pot of jasmine tea cuts through the fatty pork nicely.

Make ahead & storage The braised pork keeps three days in the fridge and actually improves overnight as the flavours settle; reheat gently in its sauce. Steamed buns freeze well, then re-steam from frozen for a few minutes. Fill only just before eating so the buns don't go soggy.

30 MinutesAsian

Recipe by Eva Pau · From the series Eva Pau's Asian Kitchen · Photography © Appetite Media
Published 13 July 2026 · Updated 15 July 2026