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Now that we have vegan chicken, it’s time to put it to good use! Introducing Crispy Mushroom & Chicken Gua Bao!
These fluffy steamed buns are stuffed with saucy chicken, sweet and spicy hoisin sauce, and tempura mushrooms! The combination of tender chicken, crispy mushrooms, and soft buns is just amazing! There are a lot of different flavors and textures going on here!
The recipe starts with the buns that consist of a simple mix of all-purpose flour (sorry, this one is not gluten-free, guys), water, yeast, and salt. The dough needs to rest for at least 1 and 1/2 hours in a warm place.
Once done, the dough is divided into small balls and flattened into rounds. I prefer my buns small (about the size of the palm) so it’s a two or three bites sandwich. Feel free to make them bigger if you want, though! Another 45 minutes of rest and the buns are ready to be steamed. To steam them, I recommend using a bamboo steamer. It is cheap and can also be used to steam vegetables.
Then comes the filling! The insides of the buns are first brushed with a generous amount of sweet and salty hoisin sauce.
Next, we have the chicken that is marinated in soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic, ginger, and lime juice for freshness, and some red pepper flakes for spiciness.
To make the crispy mushrooms, you dip sliced mushrooms in a batter and then fry them for a couple of minutes or until golden brown. If you are avoiding fried food, then feel free to sautée the mushrooms simply. They won’t be as crispy, but the buns will still taste delicious!
To finish the buns, add some raw carrots, cucumber, and fresh cilantro, and top with crushed peanuts. These street-food-inspired buns are sweet and salty, super tender, and meaty! You are going to love this crispy mushroom & Chicken Gua Bao recipe!
For more street-food-inspired recipes, check out these Teriyaki Sticky Rice Kebabs or these Dan Dan Noodles with Tempeh Scramble!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Crispy Mushroom & Chicken Gua Bao
Ingredients
Buns
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 10 tbsp warm water
- 1 and 1/2 tsp dry yeast
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp oil
Chicken
- 1 and 1/2 cup vegan chicken
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1- inch ginger grated
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/8 tsp five-spice powder
- 1/8 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp green onions chopped
Crispy Mushrooms
- 3-4 mushrooms sliced
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- 7 tsp water
- a pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
The Rest
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 carrot or use pickled carrots, cut into matchsticks
- 1/4 cucumber sliced (optional)
- fresh cilantro
- crushed peanuts
Instructions
Buns
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder and salt
- In a small bowl, dissolve the dry yeast in the warm water. Add the yeast mixture to the flour bowl. Add the maple syrup and oil, and knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is smooth. It should be just slightly sticky.
- Cover the dough with a plastic film to touch and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 and 1/2 hours. In the meantime, prepare the chick'n and the vegetables.
- Once the dough has almost doubled in size, knead for a few seconds and divide it into 9-10 small balls.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball into an oval shape. Brush the surface of each oval with oil and then fold each one in half. Place each bun on a small piece of parchment paper. Cover the buns with cling film and let them rise for another 45 minutes.
- Next, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, place a bamboo steamer on top. Place 3-4 buns in the steamer and cover with the lid.
- Steam for about 8 minutes, or until puffed up. The buns will still be very light in color, this is normal. Repeat with the remaining buns. While the buns are steaming, you can cook the chicken and the mushrooms.
- To assemble: slightly open each bun, brush the inside bottom with about 1 tsp of hoisin sauce, then fill them with a few pieces of chicken, 2-3 mushroom slices, 2-3 carrot sticks, and cucumber if using. Top with fresh cilantro and crushed peanuts, and serve immediately!
- These buns are best served warm on the same day.
Chick'n
- Using your hands, shred the vegan chicken into small pieces. Transfer to a deep plate.
- Add the soy sauce, maple syrup, lime juice, grated ginger, garlic, five-spice powder, chili flakes, and green onions. Stir to coat the chicken with the marinade and let it marinate for at least two hours.
- Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until slightly golden brown once your buns are ready.
Crispy Mushrooms
- Whisk together the tapioca starch, rice flour, water, and salt in a small bowl.
- Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. Once hot, dip each slice of mushroom in the wet mixture, slightly shake to remove the excess coating, and immediately add the saucepan. Be careful not to burn yourself. The oil is hot.
- Fry 2-3 slices of mushrooms at a time for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Remove the mushrooms using a spatula or slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate lined with a kitchen paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Repeat with the remaining mushrooms.
Notes
- Frying mushrooms is optional, if you don't want to make tempura mushrooms, you can simply sauté in a skillet. The buns will still be delicious!
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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These look really delicious. I have to plan a dinner party to serve them at!
Thanks Danielle!
I have reached an important milestone today (got a high grade in a test in another language that is not mine in advanced level). To celebrate I am making those right now, because it looks absolutely delicious!!!! Thank you so much for putting so much effort into making amazing, delicious and simple recipes 😀 slowcooking roles!
Congrats! 🙂 You’re welcome Amanda!
Can the buns be frozen?
Yes, you can then re-heat them in a steamer directly from frozen (for 10-15 minutes).
Hi Thomas, I just wanted to say that all of your recipes are absolutely incredible and I am so sincerely grateful for them. Thank you for all the love and dedication you put into everything you do for this website, you’re helping so many people all over the world embrace a vegan diet our planet thanks you, as do our animals, as do I and many others!
Thank you so much Isabelle! Really appreciate it 🙂
Making this for the third time for a family party tonight! LOVE it. SO super delish and worth the effort.
Thanks KC! It’s also one of my favorite!
Hi Thomas, I made this last night and it was so delicious. Really amazing. The only thing is that i let the dough rise for 45 minutes and they were all puffy but I transferred them to the steamer with my hands. Of course they all deflated. I guess you put them on parchemin paper and transfer them directly without touching them. Still they were really good but not as puffy as I expected. My bad. 🙂
Thanks Pierre! That is correct, I transfer directly with the parchment paper. Better luck next time 😉