These vegetarian bao buns are Korean style adaptation of the traditional Chinese bao buns, or baozi (包子). They're stuffed with Korean japchae noodles and a variety of vegetables that you can easily adapt and substitute to your preference.
Add the sugar into warm water and stir until dissolved. Then, sprinkle in the active dry yeast and give it a stir. Let the yeast sit and dissolve, about 3-5 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, add the flour and slowly pour in the water with dissolved yeast while stirring with a fork. When all the water is added and the dough looks shaggy, knead the dough until it's one cohesive ball. Cover the dough and let it ferment for 30 minutes to develop gluten.*You can speed up this process by kneading the dough until smooth, supple, and passes the window pane test. This can be done both by hand or in a stand mixer.*
After the 30 minute fermentation time, fold the dough onto itself and knead out the air. Fold the dough back into a ball, cover, and let it proof until doubled in a warm place, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
For the vegetable filling:
For the sweet potato glass noodles, soak them in a warm water for 15-20 minutes until softened. Once soft, drain and cook the noodles in a pot of boiling water until the center is no longer starchy and the entire noodle is just tender, about 3-5 minutes (depending on brand).Drain the noodles and rinse it under cool water to wash off excess starch. Using a pair of scissors, cut the noodles into smaller pieces, roughly 2 to 4 inches long.
For the bean sprouts, blanche it in a pot of boiling water until they turn kind of translucent and no longer tastes raw. Drain and rinse in cold water. Leave the bean sprouts in the strainer for about 5 to 10 minutes to remove excess moisture.
For the cabbage, mushrooms, and carrots, sauté each on medium high heat with a small amount of cooking oil until just limp, about 3-5 minutes. Season it with a small amount of salt and transfer to a plate to cool.
For the firm tofu, wrap it in two layers of cheese cloth and squeeze out as much of excess moisture as possible.
Combine all the prepared noodles, vegetables, tofu, grated ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil into a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside until needed.*The mixture should be a little saltier than you'd prefer because it has to compensate for the bao bun. If you want the filling to be a bit more flavored, simply add a little more soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon at a time.*
When the bao bun dough has doubled, punch it down, fold it onto itself, and knead it into a ball. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and knead the into balls. Cover the dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and work with 1 piece of dough at a time.
Using a small amount of flour for dusting if needed, flatten the dough ball into a circular disc and roll it out into a circular sheet. Keep the center thicker than the edge. The center should be around 3 millimeters inch while the edge should be around 1 to 2 millimeters.
Fill the wrapper with about 3 Tablespoons of vegetable filling and seal the bao by pleat the dough. *Refer to post for picture reference.* Place the finished bao buns on a small sheet of parchment paper and let it rest as you make the remaining buns.
Once all of the baos have been filled and pleated, arrange the baos into your steamer, keeping them at least 1½ inch from each other and the edge. Let the baos rest for another 5-10 minutes or until the bun looks almost doubled.
Fill a pot with cold water and place your steamer basket over it. Make sure the water is at least 1 inch from the bottom rack of the steamer. Bring the water to a boil and lower it to a simmer. From this point on, let the buns steam fro 15 minutes.
When the time is up, take the pot off the heat and let the steam basket stand for 5 minutes before uncovering. Remove the baos from the basket and repeat with remaining baos.
Enjoy the bao bun warm by itself or with the soy dipping sauce!*For the soy dipping sauce, simply combine all the ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved.*
Notes
Once the bao buns are steamed and cooled, you can store them in the freezer for up to 2 months, if properly wrapped in an airtight container. To reheat, simply defrost the buns in the fridge and steam them for 8-10 minutes.