Chinese Steamed Custard Buns

February 14, 2024March 31, 2016 by Daphne Goh

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Many people love the Chinese Steamed Custard Buns which is a classic cantonese dim sum dessert. Likewise, they make these soft and fluffy custard buns with leavened dough and the sweet fillings with creamy lava custard. Besides, they make sweet lava custard fillings with traditional ingredients including salted egg yolks, milk powder and custard powder. Plus evaporated milk, butter and sugar. For my gluten free recipe of Chinese steamed custard buns, I am using vegan custard powder and corn starch. As well as agave sugar, maple syrup and vegan butter for the sweet fillings. My Chinese steamed custard buns recipe is not only gluten free. But also vegan, dairy free, soy free, egg free, nut free, refined sugar free and allergy friendly.

Chinese Steamed Custard Buns | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (1)

Chinese Steamed Custard Buns | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (2)

History of Chinese Bao Buns

According to a legendary folktale, a Chinese scholar and military strategist named Zhuge Liang created baozi or buns. When three-party states divided and ruled China during the Three Kingdoms era (AD220-280). Namely Wei, Wu and Shu, after the Han dynasty and before the Jin dynasty. While many different parts of contemporary China have different Chinese cultures. Likewise, buns are an extremely popular food staple and are broadly available. Moreover, they eat buns most commonly for breakfast and as a snack or even as a meal itself.

Chinese Steamed Custard Buns | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (3)

Variety of Chinese Bao Buns

They often make soft and fluffy bao or baozi leavened with yeast. A type of steamed filled bun or bread like bun in Chinese cuisines. There are countless number of variations to the fillings and methods of preparing these buns. These buns are similar to the traditional Chinese mantou, they stuff them with meat or vegetables and sweet fillings. They frequently serve buns or baozi in a push cart in Yum Cha restaurants as dim sums. Moreover, they often dish up three buns or baozi together in a bamboo steamer.

There are many different variation of buns available, the fillings can be sweet or savoury. The variety of buns include many all-time favourite dim sum. For instance char siu bao, sweet red bean paste buns (doushabao) and Chinese steamed custard buns (naihuangbao). As well as lotus seed bun and black sesame paste buns (zhimabao). In addition, meat buns include pork buns (bah-pau), and large bao (normally filled with pork, eggs and vegetables). Plus tangbaozi (soup-filled buns), shaobao (filled with any fillings of chicken, pork or salted eggs) and Shanghai xiaolongbao. There is also another variation of bun popular in Malaysia and Singapore. They called these popular buns pandan kaya buns. Besides, they fill these pandan kaya buns with kaya jam prepared with coconut, eggs and pandan. Other variety of mantou include shengjian mantou, a small Shanghai fried mantou stuffed with minced meat.

Chinese Sweet custard buns (naihuangbao) are a favourite Cantonese dim sum dessert served in a Yum Cha restaurant. They are soft and fluffy with sweet and creamy custard fillings.

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Course: Breakfast, Buns, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Asian Desserts, Chinese

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Fat, Vegan

Keyword: Bao, Baozi, Custard, Custard Buns, Dairy Free, Dim Sum, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Bao Buns, Gluten Free Chinese Bao, Gluten Free Dim Sum, Gluten Free Dim Sum Dessert, Gluten Free Dim Sum Recipe, Nut Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 buns

Calories: 312.96kcal

Author: Daphne Goh

Ingredients

Metric – US Customary

some gluten free flour for dusting work surface

For the dough:

Dry Ingredients:

600 g gluten free self-raising flour
100 g corn starch
3 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
2½ tablespoons agave syrup
½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
350 ml rice milk plus 1 tablespoon if required
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Custard Filling:

165 g custard powder gluten free and vegan
100 g corn starch
375 ml water
400 ml coconut milk
2 tablespoons vegan butter
2½ tablespoons agave syrup
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

For preparing the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine and whisk together all the dry ingredients except agave sugar. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture.
Warm the rice milk in a small pot for around 2 minutes, then turn off the heat. Add in the rice bran oil or extra virgin olive oil and agave sugar and mix well until all the agave sugar has dissolved.
Pour the warm rice milk mixture in step 2 into the well in the large mixing bowl, add the vanilla extract, stir and combine well with the flour.
Then use your hands to knead the dough until you have a smooth dough. Add 1 tablespoon rice milk if required.
Divide the dough into 2 portions. Seal in ziplock bags and let the dough rest on the benchtop for 1 hour.

For the filling:

Mix the corn starch with all the water.
Combine and mix well all the ingredients for the custard filling including the corn starch mixture in step 6 into a non-stick frying pan. Stir and mix on medium to low heat for 5 mins or until the custard mixture is smooth and has thickened.
Remove the frying pan from heat and let the custard filling cool for around 2 minutes.
Roll the custard filling into 16 balls about 54g (1.9oz) each. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

For the dough:

Dust the work surface and rolling pin with some gluten free flour.
Remove 1 bag of dough from the ziplock bag at a time, divide the dough equally into 16 large balls around 72g (2.5oz) each. Repeat until all the dough are finished.
Flatten each ball into a disc or patty. Roll out each dough, turning it as you roll, to form a 4 inch round dough around 0.7cm (0.3 inch) in thickness.

For stuffing the dough:

Place a cooled custard ball into the centre of the dough.
Wrap and pinch the dough together. Making sure that the thickness are even throughout the ball. Seal the edges and shape into a smooth ball.

For cooking the buns:

Arrange each dough onto a piece of baking/parchment paper.
See Also
37 Easy Cantonese recipes (Hong Kong) 2024 - Greedy Girl Gourmet Tang Yuan Recipe-Black Sesame Filling Tang Yuan with Black Sesame Filling (芝麻湯圓) - Oh My Food Recipes 23 Glutinous Rice Flour Recipes 2024 - Greedy Girl Gourmet
Heat up a wok with a steaming rack with some water and place the bamboo steamer on top of the steaming rack. Steam the buns for 20 minutes on high heat in batches. Ensure that there is sufficient water in the wok for the whole steaming process. Repeat until all the buns are cooked. You can use any type of steamer.
Remove and place the cooked buns on a cooling rack. Best serve warm.
You can also store the buns in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat by steaming on high heat for 3 minutes or in microwave for 1½ minutes or until buns are soft.