Steamed Mushroom Buns

These steamed mushroom buns are soft and fluffy, filled with a delicious savoury filling. They make the perfect appetiser or simply served as a light lunch on their own. This post includes step-by-step photos to show you just how simple they are to make at home!

Ok so before we get into it, full disclosure that I am definitely not a professional when it comes to making steamed buns or dumplings and my pleating technique could use work. But what these little buns lack in style, they make up for with flavour.

This is also not a traditional recipe, it’s one that I created and first published back in 2019 when I was looking to try new things and expand my skills in the kitchen and experiment with different meat-free recipes. I also really really love steamed buns so I wanted to have a variation that I could easily make at home myself.

Sweet and soft doughy, steamed buns are most commonly known for their sticky pork filling but this variation instead uses a rich and hearty filling of portobello mushrooms and a combination of sauces to create the perfect umami taste.

These mushroom buns are a fun project to make at home and the reward is so delicious you’ll be going back for more.

Plus once you have the bun dough down, I am sure you’ll be like me and starting to think about all the other filling options! If you do try some different fillings, please be sure to let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram!

Key Ingredients

You will need a few ingredients to make these buns, but don’t let the length of the list put you off. The steps can be broken up into two sections, the buns themselves and the mushroom filling.

We’ll start with the steamed buns.

Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour in the US.
• White sugar – gives the buns that little bit of sweetness that is going to contrast with the rich savoury filling.
• Baking powder – helps the buns puff up while steaming giving them that light and fluffy texture.
• Salt – balancing the sweetness and ensuring we don’t have bland tasting buns.
• Vegetable oil – helps keep the buns soft and provides elasticity.

For the savoury mushroom filling we’ll need:

• Portobello mushrooms – you can use any mushrooms you like really but portobello have a rich, hearty flavour that works really well here.
• Water chestnuts – adds texture to the buns.
• Soy sauce – providing that essential salty and umami flavour.
• Honey – for sweetness. For a vegan option, substitute with maple syrup.
• Oyster sauce – providing that richness and umami taste. If you want to ensure these buns are suitable for vegetarians and vegans, make sure to use a vegetarian oyster sauce.
• Chinese cooking wine – a cooking rice wine used in many Chinese recipes, this adds extra complexity and sweetness to the flavour of the filling. If you don’t have this on hand, as a substitute you can use mirin, dry sherry or cooking sake (Japanese rice wine) instead.
• Ginger and garlic – rounds out our flavours and adds extra depth.

Step-By-Step Instructions

There are a couple of steps to making these mushroom steamed buns, but I’ve broken it down so that you know exactly what to expect as well as when to do each step to help with the timing. This is a great weekend recipe when you want to make something delicious from scratch!

We’ll start by making the dough for the steamed buns. To do so, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and gradually add in warm water and the vegetable oil. I find it easiest to mix using your hands as you can get a feel for when the dough has just come together.

Once you’ve formed a soft dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it’s smooth. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

While the dough is resting, you can make the filling. Start by finely dicing the mushrooms and water chestnuts into a mince-like consistency. Heat some peanut oil in a frying pan and saute the mushrooms until soft and tender.

While the mushrooms are cooking, mix together the soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, ginger and garlic in a small bowl.

To the cooked mushrooms, add in the chopped water chestnuts and the sauce and bring to the boil. Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed and cooked away. You don’t want a lot of liquid left in the filling as this will create soggy buns.

While the filling is cooling, you can get your rested dough and prepare the buns. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Using a rolling pin that’s been dusted with extra flour, roll the dough balls into approximately 8 cm diameter rounds.

To the centre of each circle of dough, add about a tablespoon of the filling mixture. Use your finger to gently run a little water around the edge of the dough and then gather the edges around the filling and pinch them together at the top, doing your best to seal in the filling.

Repeat this process until you have your 10 buns ready to cook.

Place the mushroom buns into a bamboo steamer lined with baking paper to prevent sticking, allowing at least 2 cm between each as they will expand as they cook. Steam the buns over boiling water for 15 minutes.

While the buns are steaming you can mix up a little dipping sauce using some soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and chilli sauce to taste, or simply just serve with soy if you prefer less spicy.

The buns are best enjoyed immediately after steaming, but you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and reheat them using the steamer until heated through.

Recipe FAQs

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Steamed Mushroom Buns

Soft, fluffy and a little sweet, these steamed buns are filled with a savoury mushroom filling and are perfect as an appetiser or own their own, served with a spicy dipping sauce.

4.88 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Asian

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 buns

Author: Sally

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Ingredients

For the buns:

• 2 cups plain flour
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the filling:

• 300 grams portobello mushrooms
• 230 gram can of water chestnuts
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
• 1 teaspoon crushed ginger
• 1 clove garlic crushed

For the dipping sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chilli sauce such as sambal olek

Instructions

• Make the dough. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Gradually add in ½ cup of warm water and vegetable oil, mixing with your hands until the mixture comes together and forms a soft dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for about 5 minutes until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
• Make the filling.

  Finley dice the mushrooms and water chestnuts so they form a mince like texture. Heat peanut oil in a frying pan and add mushrooms and sauté until soft.
• Meanwhile, mix together soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, ginger and garlic. Add sauce and water chestnuts to the mushrooms and bring sauce to the boil. Turn down the heat sightly and continue to cook until all of the excess moisture has cooked out, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and use a rolling pin to shape into circles about 8 cm in diameter. Cover dough with a damp cloth while you work to prevent drying out.
• Place a tablespoon of mushroom mixture into the centre of the dough circle. Use your finger to run a little water around the edge and then gather the edges around the filling and pinch together at the top. Repeat with remaining dough circles.
• Line a bamboo steamer with baking paper and add buns 2 cm apart. You may need to do this in batches depending on how big your steamer is. Steam buns over simmering water for 15 minutes.
• While the buns are steaming, mix together dipping sauce ingredients. Adjust chilli sauce to taste. Serve buns immediately with dipping sauce.

Notes

Vegetarian Option: Substitute oyster sauce for vegetarian oyster sauce.

Vegan Option: Substitute oyster sauce for vegetarian oyster sauce and swap honey for maple syrup.

Nutrition

Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 864mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.

Have you made this recipe?Leave a comment and a rating below and tag your creations with #eightforestlane on Instagram!

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