Vegan Five Spice Pumpkin & Jackfruit Bao Buns
Vegan Five Spice Pumpkin & Jackfruit Bao Buns
Servings 6 buns
Ingredients
FOR THE STEAMED BAO BUNS:
- 6-1/2 tbsp Warm (but not hot) Water
- 1 c Flour
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
FOR THE BAKED CHINESE FIVE SPICED JACKFRUIT:
- 1 can Jackfruit (in brine) rinsed, dried and sliced
- 1-1/2 tsp Oil of your choosing
- 2 tbsp Agave (or Maple Syrup or even Date Syrup)
- 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder or pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
- Salt to taste
FOR THE SUGARED GROUND PUMPKIN SEED TOPPING:
- 2 tbsp Salted Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 tsp Sugar
FOR SERVING THE BAO:
- Parsley (or Cilantro) chopped
- Vegan Mayonnaise (optional, but recommended)
Instructions
TO MAKE THE STEAMED BAO BUNS:
- In a food processor, add the flour, water, sugar and yeast. Mix until a dough ball forms. Using the least amount of flour necessary, knead a few times until smooth. NOTE: Most food processors include a plastic dough blade, but you could certainly do this in a stand mixer with a dough hook or even by hand.
- Cover and let rise until doubled in size. Mine took about an hour to accomplish this.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface, kneading until smooth. Divide into eight (or six as I did) equal pieces. Roll into smooth balls and place on the parchment pieces that are approximately 5" square.
- Once on the parchment, it becomes a bit easier to manage and you can roll into rounds about 4" in diameter.
- Pull on one edge of the rounded dough and fold it over in half, essentially creating a taco. Place into steamer basket (no heat yet). Cover once again, and let rise for another hour. The dough should be nearly double or tripled in size.
- Bring the water beneath your steamer to a boil and steam the buns for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat for 5 minutes (cover still on). Remove from steamer and cool before splitting. I just used my fingers to split the buns.
TO MAKE THE BAKED CHINESE FIVE SPICED JACKFRUIT:
- Drain, rinse and dry the jackfruit with paper towels. Slice the jackfruit lengthwise and place into a large bowl with the marinade ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay the jackfruit out on a silicone (or parchment) line baking sheet. Give them room so you get those browned edges. Baking for 15 minutes. Flip and repeat.
TO MAKE THE ROASTED PUMPKIN:
- Peel and cube the pumpkin, add a touch of oil (you don't need much) and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, to taste. Bake along with the jackfruit.
FOR THE SUGARED GROUND PUMPKIN SEED TOPPING:
- In a food processor or coffee grinder, process the pumpkin seeds with 1 teaspoon of sugar until it turns into a coarse powder. Word to the wise ---> over processing will create a pumpkin seed BUTTER :)
TO ASSEMBLE:
- Cut open the steamed buns (or use your fingers as I did). Start with a bit of (optional, but recommended) vegan mayo, then the jackfruit slices, the roasted pumpkin, a sprinkling of the pumpkin seed powder and finally, garnish with parsley (or cilantro if you prefer it).