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Chapter III: Steamed Bao Buns with Ragù alla Bolognese

Silvio Da Col

• 4 min read

Since my first day in China I have missed bread... Back in Italy I was eating tons of it. I then started looking for something similar here and I quickly discovered the 包子 (pinying: baozi). The Bao Buns are a white dough bun with some meaty filling. There are many kinds of them depending on the single characteristics:

  • 生煎包 (pinying: shengjianbao): Fried Bao Buns
  • 小笼包 (pinying: xiaolongbao): Small Bao Buns
  • 灌汤包 (pinying: guantangbao): Soup Bao Buns

And I could continue.

The Idea Behind

I have always loved cooking, it relaxes me. The fact is that until this moment I could cook mainly Italian dishes. Moving to Asia I got stimulated by the tasty and exotic cuisines from this part of the World and so I promised myself to start learning some recipes from here.

I wanted anyhow to make something unique and so I decided to unite the Italian and the Chinese cuisines, two of the best in the World. The idea was to make Baozi filled with Italian Ragù alla Bolognese. Ragù is an Italian meat sauce from the city of Bologna used for pasta and lasagne. I thought the combination must be good right?! No spoilers.

The Bao Buns

  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Preparation: 1 hour
  • Cooking: 3 hours

To make the Bao Buns' dough and to assemble them I have followed the recipe from this blog. Please check it out for more: https://redhousespice.com/steamed-bao-buns/. It was well explained and there were good suggestions for my first time. The Ragù alla Bolognese recipe comes instead from my mum.

Disclaimer: The Bao Buns with Ragù alla Bolognese filling will take around 1 hour to prepare and 4 hours to cook. Get into this only if in the right mood eh eh 👨‍🍳

Dough Ingredients
  • 300 g all-purpose flour (13 grams of proteins)
  • 1 teaspoon dried yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil (Extra-virgin olive oil)
  • 140 ml warm water
Prepare the Dough

Follow these instructions to prepare the perfect dough:

  1. Mix flour, yeast, sugar, and oil in a bowl.
  2. Pour in the water little by little while mixing.
  3. Combine the ingredients with your hands until a very smooth dough forms.
  4. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel.
  5. Leave the bowl in a warm place to rise for around 2 hours.
  6. Re-work the dough after it has risen.
  7. Let the dough rest for some more time.
Ragù alla Bolognese Ingredients
  • 200 g Tomato Puree (Passata di Pomodoro)
  • 250 g Beef (coarse minced and mixed)
  • 250 g Pork (coarse minced and mixed)
  • 100 g Carrots
  • 100 g Golden onions
  • Fine salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 100g Red wine
  • Extra-virgin olive oil to taste
Prepare the Ragù alla Bolognese

While the dough is rising, prepare the Ragù as a filling. The cooking time for this Italian sauce will be long so it is great to optimize the time and make the two together. Follow these instructions to make the best Ragù:

  1. Cut carrots and onions into small cubes (around 4 mm edges).
  2. Warm up the pan.
  3. Put the mixed pork and beef in the pan.
  4. Brown the meat at high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
  5. Remove the meat from the pan once browned.
  6. Add oil to the pan and cook the carrots first.
  7. Once the carrots have released some water, add the onions to the pan, ensuring they don't burn.
  8. Once the vegetables have released some water and are slightly fried, add the browned meat back to the pan.
  9. Add the tomato puree and red wine.
  10. Stir until you obtain a good blend.
  11. Cook with the lid closed for the first hour, adjusting salt and pepper.
  12. Cook for additional hours, stirring occasionally.

Takeaway: The most time you cook the Ragù, the most tasty it will be. Take additional 2 hours as a reference.

Assemble the Bao Buns

Creating bao buns involves a bit of skill, especially when it comes to shaping and filling them. I have found this to be the most challenging part of the recipe. These steps can be followed to assemble the buns.

Watch this tutorial video on pleating baozi. Even if I tried to follow the steps, the result has not been perfect: https://youtu.be/dMVOQ2CW2n4?si=HzfU0cxpDmPzxiLv

  1. Once your dough is ready, place it on a clean surface.
  2. Knead it until smooth and free of air bubbles.
  3. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.
  4. Roll each piece into a ball.
  5. Using a rolling pin, flatten each ball into a circle.
  6. Ensure the edges are thinner than the center.
  7. Hold a dough circle in your hand.
  8. Place a tablespoon of Ragù in the center.
  9. Begin pleating the edges around the filling, rotating as you go.
  10. Gather the pleats at the top to seal the bun.

Takeaway: Gently press the filling as you pleat to keep it compact and inside the bao bun.

Steam the Bao Bun

Steaming bao buns is straightforward and can be done with either a steamer or an oven with steaming function. Start by placing the buns in the steamer while it is still cold. Gradually increase the temperature to gently cook the buns. The buns should be ready after around 20 minutes since the water has started boiling.

Conclusions

Preparing the Bao Buns have been a fun and rewarding experience. As a benchmark I invited home a Chinese friend to enjoy them with me and she loved them so much. I am happy of the result even if next time I will have to shape the Bao Buns better.