Vegan Five Spice Pumpkin & Jackfruit Bao Buns
Print

Vegan Five Spice Pumpkin & Jackfruit Bao Buns

Vegan Five Spice Pumpkin & Jackfruit Bao Buns
Course Main Course
Cuisine vegan
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 39 minutes
Servings 6 buns
Author Living Vegan Staff

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).