I’ve been obsessing over bao the last few months. Bao is a chinese yeasted bread that is steamed and usually stuffed with pork belly. The bread is so soft and fluffy! Since it’s not exactly vegetarian-friendly, I never had it until recently. A few months ago I went to Paris and went to Ippudo, a ramen chain, and had my very first bao. It was stuffed with tempura eggplant, romaine lettuce and Sriracha mayo. It was amazing! We actually ended up ordering a second plate! I love all the textures – soft, crunchy and crispy!
To recreate that foodie experience, I bought some frozen bao from my local asian market, but you can make the bao yourself. I also used Urban Accent’s Korean BBQ Taco Simmer Sauce to flavor my tofu. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ve seen my veggie tacos I made with their Tangy Garlic Tomatillo Taco Simmer Sauce. These sauces really pack a flavor punch and they help make my meal prep so much shorter!
I cut the tofu into thin slices and marinated the tofu for 2 hours in the simmer sauce. However, you can opt to marinate it overnight for extra flavor!
The beauty of bao is that you can pretty much fill it with anything. I like to add lots of crunchy bits like purple cabbage, peanuts and carrots. You can always use whatever veggies you have in your fridge!
If you end up buying frozen bao this meal is a quick 30 minute meal! You could always spend an afternoon making bao buns and then freezing them for future meals! Give it a try!
Korean BBQ Tofu Bao
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 baos
- ½ pkg of tofu, sliced into ½ inch slabs
- ½ cup Urban Accent’s Korean BBQ Simmer Sauce
- ½ cup purple cabbage, shredded
- ¼ cup cucumber, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped
- ½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise*
- ½ tbsp Sriracha (or to taste)
Instructions
- Add sliced tofu and simmer sauce to a tupperware container. Shake so that the tofu is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
- When you’re ready to make the bao, add mayonnaise and Sriracha into a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- Heat a medium nonstick skillet on medium high heat. Add tofu slices and cook for 4-5 minutes, flip the tofu and cook for another 4 minutes. Add in the rest of the marinade and cook until the sauce is nice and thick.
- Add bao buns to a greased steamer and steam for 7 minutes. Remove the bao buns and spread some Sriracha mayo on one side. Then stuff the bao with tofu, shredded cabbage and cucumber slices. Top with peanuts, sesame seeds, and scallion. Enjoy!
Notes
*use vegan mayo to make the dish vegan!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
