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A staple in several Asian cultures, bao is a tasty comfort food. Hot for Food's Lauren Toyota has developed a version that's soft, fluffy, hearty and fresh all at the same time. *mouth waters*

Here's how to bring her vision to life:

Makes 16
Prep Time: 1 hour
Dough Rising: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Bao Dough
2 C 00 flour (or sub all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon quick-rise yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
3 teaspoons neutral vegetable oil, divided
¾ C warm water (between 120°F - 130°F)

Quick Pickled Cucumber & Carrot
2 C thinly sliced English cucumber
2 C ribboned carrots
½ C warm water
¼ C sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt
½ C white vinegar (or substitute rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)

Five Spice Palm Filling
1 C crumbled firm tofu
1 x 14 oz can whole hearts of palm
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil

For Serving
2 C pickled cucumber & carrot (recipe above)
2 green onions (sliced 2-inches long lengthwise)
2 C whole cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
¼ cup crushed roasted salted peanuts or cashews
vegan hoisin, to taste
Sriracha, to taste

To make the dough, use the bowl of your stand mixer to combine flour, yeast, baking powder, sugar, and sea salt with a spatula. Attach the dough hook and place the bowl on the stand. While running on low speed, add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil and all the water. Increase the speed to knead the dough until the dough comes together, cleaning the sides of the mixing bowl. You may need to stop the machine and scrape the sides a couple of times to get the dough to come together. You can also do this by hand in a mixing bowl, just ensure you really knead the dough until soft and smooth. Gather the dough and place on a lightly floured surface and knead a couple more times until a smooth and slightly sticky ball forms.

Oil the mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and place the dough in it. Cover with a dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 40 to 60 minutes until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising you can prepare the quick pickled cucumber and carrot mixture and combine the palm filling. Both can be made a day in advance and refrigerated as well. For the pickled cucumber and carrots, add warm water to a mixing bowl and stir in sugar and salt until dissolved. Add vinegar, sliced cucumber, and carrot ribbons and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For the palm filling, drain the water from the can of hearts of palm then add them to a nut milk bag or fine mesh sieve to squeeze out the excess water. Shred the pieces by hand into a mixing bowl. Do the same for the crumbled tofu, draining out the excess water through a nut milk bag or fine mesh sieve. Place that in the bowl with the shredded hearts of palm. Then add minced garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, chili flakes, five spice, and smoked paprika. Toss to combine well and refrigerate while you make the bao buns.

Cut out squares of parchment about 4 x 5-inches each and place on a baking sheet. This is where you'll place the cut-out buns to rise before steaming. Also cut out a strip of parchment that is about 4-inches wide.

Turn the proofed dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut the dough in half. Work with one half portion at a time. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to ¼-inch thick. Use a 3 ½-inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles. Place the strip of parchment paper over half of the circle and fold the dough circle in half over the parchment. Trim the parchment so there is just a bit of overhang to prevent the bao bun from sticking. Place this on one of the parchment rectangles on the baking sheet. Each parchment rectangle should fit 2 bao each. Once all the circles are cut and resting on the baking sheet, cover with a dish towel and let them rise on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes before steaming.

To steam the bao, boil water on medium-high in a wide deep pan that will fit your bamboo steamer. The water should just come halfway up the bottom edge of the steamer. Once simmering, place a rectangle with 2 bao in the steam basket, place the lid on, and using oven mitts place the entire basket in the simmering water. Steam for 3 minutes. Don’t over steam or the dough will get too tough and hard.
Remove the bamboo basket with oven mitts and let it rest with the lid on for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then carefully remove the lid and place the bao onto a baking sheet or a plate. It’s steamy, so be careful. My steam basket only fits 2 buns, but larger ones will fit 4.

When the steamed buns are ready, you can cook the filling in a cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil and the palm filling in an even layer. Allow it to brown and get crispy for about 5 to 7 minutes. If some of the spices are browning quickly on the bottom of the pan, scrape and add a little water or lower the heat slightly. Then flip the mixture to brown the other side for another 4 to 5 minutes.

To assemble the bao, open the steamed bun carefully. Add pickled cucumber and carrots, palm filling, cilantro, jalapeño slices, green onion, and crushed peanuts. Then add hoisin and Sriracha for serving, either drizzled on each bao or on the side for dipping.
Head over to https://www.hotforfoodblog.com to find other recipes that will tantalize taste buds.