This Korean-inspired dish is a favourite Oriental snack. While the buns take some time to prepare, they can be made in batches and frozen to use at a later date.
Makes 10 buns – Serves 6-8
For the buns:
-
- 1 x 7g sachet fast acting dried yeast
- 300ml warm water
- 450g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- Salt
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the brisket:
-
- 1.3kg lean brisket joint
- Freshly milled black pepper
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 600ml good, hot beef stock
- 100ml soy sauce
- 100ml prepared barbecue sauce
- 2 tbsp runny honey
- 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
- 2 small pears, peeled, seeded and puréed
- Finely chopped spring onions, to garnish
1. For the brisket, preheat the oven to 160C / Gas 3. Heat half the oil in a large non-stick frying pan.
2. Place the joint on a chopping board and season with pepper all over. Brown the joint on all sides and transfer to a large ovenproof dish.
3. Add the remaining oil and cook the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes until soft. Transfer to the casserole dish with the joint.
4. Add the stock, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, honey, gochujang and pears. Bring to the boil, cover and slow roast in the oven for 3-3½hours until the beef is tender.
5. For the bao buns, whisk together the yeast and water in a small jug.
6. In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Add the yeast mixture to the flour, mix with a wooden spoon to form a dough.
7. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until elastic.
8. Return the dough to a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size.
9. Roll the dough into a sausage shape on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 10 even golf-sized balls.
10. Flatten the balls into ovals with a rolling pin, brush with oil the fold in half over the handle of a wooden spoon, to make a small gap.
11. Remove the wooden spoon, swirling as you remove the handle to increase the size of the gap.
12. Transfer to a lined baking tray, cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.
13. Set a wooden steamer lined with baking parchment in a large saucepan or wok filled with a little water.
14. Steam the buns in batches spaced 3cm apart for 8-10 minutes until expanded and cooked all the way through.
15. Transfer the beef to a clean chopping board and `pull’ the cooked beef apart by securing the joint with a fork and shredding the meat with another fork.
16. Serve in bao buns garnished with spring onions.
Tip:
The bao buns are suitable for freezing raw or cooked (but unfilled). Transfer to an airtight plastic container and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, defrost thoroughly overnight in the fridge. To reheat, wrap the buns in foil and reheat in a moderate oven for 20-25 minutes.