Mushroom Bao Buns
Deliciously Savory glazed mushrooms, with crunchy, bright vegetables, stuffed in fluffy bao buns.
There’s no denying the popularity of bao buns these days. And for good reason. They are a delightful balance of savory, sweet, sticky mushrooms or jackfruit (if they are a vegan kind), bright crunchy vegetables, all stuffed in an impossibly soft steamed bun. The non-vegan counter parts are incredibly popular. This recipe substitutes the meat with mushrooms. The level of umami this recipe achieves surprised even me! And I’m the one that came up with the recipe! I love it when I get pleasantly surprised.
Making Mushroom Bao Buns
Steamed buns are so important to this recipe. You can use my recipe here for Steamed Buns to make your own. I highly suggest making your own steamed buns. They are fairly easy to master, and you’ll never regret being able to make your own steamed buns whenever you want. You’ll just want to invest in a bamboo steamer. You don’t really have to invest a whole lot of money in them. Even a lower grade bamboo steamer does the trick and yield the same results as a top of the line steamer. But that’s just my opinion!
Making Mushrooms Bao Buns comes together fairly quickly if you have your steamed buns already made (they can be made a day ahead). Sauteeing and glazing the mushrooms really only takes a few minutes, and you can pickle the vegetables quickly while you prepare the mushrooms. These can easily be made in about 30 minutes!
Mushroom Bao Buns
Ingredients
Glazed Mushrooms
- 2 Cups Sliced Mushrooms cremini, button, shitake
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 Cup Vegan Oyster Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Molasses
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Quick Pickled Vegetables
- 1 Carrot Cut into matchsticks
- 5 Radishes thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup White or Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
Other Toppings
- 6 Bao Buns see notes
- Cilantro
- Shredded Cabbage
- Sliced Green Onions
- Peanuts
Instructions
Make the quick pickled vegetables
- In a small sauce pan, add the vinegar, water, salt and sugar.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, boil for about 1 minute, and then remove from the heat.
- Add the carrots and radishes to a bowl and pour the vegetables.
- Let the vegetables sit in the hot vinegar mixture while you prepare mushrooms.
Glaze the mushrooms
- In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until the mushrooms are browned.
- In a small bowl, add the vegan oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, molasses and sesame oil and whisk together.
- Add the mixture to the mushrooms and continue to sauté until the mushrooms are coated and the sauce thickens.
- Turn off the heat and assemble the buns.
Assembly
- In a steamed bao bun, add the pickled vegetables and the glazed mushrooms.
- Top with cilantro, cabbage, green onions and peanuts to your preference.
Notes