These sandwiches really have it all. They taste fresh, sweet, sour, spicy and crispy. That makes it one of our favourites.
Bao buns are steamed buns. Bao means steamed buns, so in that sense it’s actually silly to call them bao bun. But everyone calls them that in general, so we’ll stick to that.
With bao buns you are really able to vary with all sorts of things. They are often made with pork belly or chicken. But you can also make them vegan with, for example, jackfruit. They are also delicious with rendang or with char siu.
Marinate the chicken
In this recipe we prepare the chicken a little bit different than usual. We first bake the chicken thigh fillet in its entirety, without herbs or a marinade. Then we finely chop the chicken. After that we will marinate it.
The marinade contains some sweet liquids. The spicy comes from the peppers and the lime leaves (kaffir) provide a wonderful fresh taste to the entire dish.
Pickled vegetables
The sourness of this sandwich comes from the pickled red onion and the sweet and sour cucumbers. We cut these into thin rings and slices and then put them in water and vinegar.
Fried shallots
The crispiness comes the fried shallots. By cutting these into thin rings and baking them on a medium heat, they become nice and crispy.
The sauce
We make the sauce from mayonnaise, coffee and Sriracha. Coffee may seem a bit crazy, but it really gives a great taste to the sauce. The sauce is not only delicious in this sandwich, but also tastes great with baked potatoes.
Bao buns with marinated chicken and pickled vegetables
Ingredients
- 175 gr mayonnaise
- 1/2 tbsp filter coffee
- 1 tsp Sriracha the more the spicier
- steamed bao buns
- 800 gr chicken thighs
for the marinade
- 3 cabe rawits or red pepper deseeded and finely chopped
- 3 lime leaves
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cm ginger grated
- 1 scallion finely chopped
- 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
for the pickled red onions
- 250 ml water
- 250 ml natural vinegar
- 4 red onions cut into thin half rings
- 1 clove garlic cut in half lengthwise
- 1 tbsp honey
for the sweet and sour cucumbers
- 250 ml water
- 250 ml natural vinegar
- 1/2 cucumber in thin slices
- 1 garlic clove cut in half lengthwise
- 1 tbsp honey
for the fried shallots
- 4 shallots cut into thin rings
- 1 tbsp butter
- salt
Instructions
Marinate the chicken thighs
- Heat a frying pan over high heat and fry the chicken thigh fillet for 2 minutes on both sides. Turn the heat to medium and cook the chicken until they are well done. Remove from heat and let it cool off.
- Finely chop the chicken thigh fillet with a knife. It can stay a bit coarse, as long as it fits in the bun.
- Place the chicken in a bowl and add all the ingredients for the marinade. Mix everything thoroughly. Cover the dish and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Pickled red onion
- Put the water, vinegar, garlic and honey in a saucepan and heat until it is almost boiling. Pour the liquid into a preserving jar and add the red onion rings. Let it stand for a few hours.
Sweet and sour cucumbers
- Put the water, vinegar, garlic and honey in a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Pour the liquid into a preserving jar and add the sliced cucumbers. Let it stand for a few hours.
Fried shallots
- Heat oil into a frying pan over medium heat and add the shallots. Sprinkle them with some salt and fry the shallots for about 15/20 minutes until they are crispy.
- Remove them from the pan and let them drain on kitchen paper.
Steaming the buns
- Place the steamer basket on top of a pan filled with water and steam the buns for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the chicken in a pan over medium heat. The chicken doesn’t need to cook anymore, because it’s already cooked. It’s just about warming up.
- Meanwhile, make the Srirachamayonnaise by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl.
- First you coat the buns with the sauce, then place the chicken, red onion, cucumber and fried shallots on top. Enjoy your meal!
