Pretzel Bao With Sweet Sesame-Hot Mustard Pork Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient which makes a pretzel taste like a pretzel? ›

But it's the distinctive "pretzel" flavor that makes this bread extraordinary. That comes from dipping the shaped dough in an alkaline solution — traditionally a small amount of food-grade lye dissolved in water — before baking.

Serve with some sesame seeds and chopped spring onion on top. Bao do well as a supporting act. We eat them alongside ramen, stir-fries & sushi all the time.

Place frozen bao into a stove top steamer basket or basket of rice cooker. Steam over boiling water for about 10-12 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°f. Note: Steam bao from frozen, do not thaw. Flash Frozen Dumplings- 3 easy methods to prepare: boiled, steamed or pan fried.

According to King Arthur Baking, lye and caustic sodas are used in the process of baking pretzels because lye's reaction to the pretzels, much like baking soda, gives them that chewy texture, light interior, and brown crust.

Traditional Bavarian pretzels are dipped in a lye solution before they are baked. Lye, also known as sodium hydroxide, is essentially the same stuff that's used to make soap and clean drains. It can even dissolve glass.

Soy-ginger sauce: This simple dipping sauce is quick to make. I mix soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos), finely chopped ginger and sesame seeds. The ginger will infuse the soy sauce. So sometimes I make this ahead of time so the ginger flavor will be stronger.

The best side dishes to serve with bao buns are cucumber salad, steamed dumplings, spring rolls, edamame, sauteed mushrooms, fish cake ramen, potstickers, kimchi pancakes, lo mein, tsuyu sauce, cream cheese gravy, egg drop soup, char siu pork, pickled vegetables, fried rice, wonton soup, crispy tofu, and bok choy.

They should stay warm like this for ~10 minutes. When having them for dinner, I usually actually cook all the bao ahead of time and then re-heat a couple at a time by steaming for 1-2 minutes before eating. That way you always have hot ones to eat.

- Put a small amount of water in a wok, and put a small bowl onto the wok - Place a plate with some greaseproof paper on top of the bowl (you can also use a large saucepan if you wish) - Bring the water to boil - Put the baos onto the greaseproof paper - Place a tall lid on the wok, or a flat lid if you are using a ...

How to tell when bao buns are cooked? ›

Position the buns inside the steamer and place it over the pot of boiling water. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Steam for 6 - 8 minutes, or until the buns are soft and heated all the way through.

You can replicate a steamer with very little effort by placing your buns in a common kitchen sieve or colander, then suspending it over boiling water. Creating a tower from plates and tea towels will stop the steam from escaping, causing your buns to steam cook!

Place the bao bun on a microwave-safe plate. You can line the plate with parchment paper to prevent the bao bun from sticking to the plate. If heating more than one bao bun, do not stack them and simply arrange them on a single layer. Heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute on high heat.

I do find that steaming the buns on a simmer or from cold or warm water or the combination allows the steamed buns to puff up into a more tender bite. Preboiling the water can sometimes lead to a firmer texture if the bao has not fully leavened or proofed.

Air Fryer. As always, we do suggest pan frying or steaming your buns but sometimes it just makes sense to use the air fryer. It'll give your baos a calzone consistency which makes drops like the Mamma Mia extra tasty.

Salt is the most common seasoning, or topping, for pretzels, complementing the washing soda or lye treatment that gives pretzels their traditional skin and flavor acquired through the Maillard reaction. Other toppings are mustard, cheeses, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, sweet glazing, seeds, and nuts.

Malt Syrup (the kind used for beer) and dipping them in a hot alkaline solution (baking soda or food grade lye and hot water) after baking for about 20–30 seconds gives a pretzel its characteristic flavor and distinctive brown coloring. The alkaline solution is a big contributor to the pretzel flavor.

Lye. The dough is simple; take a basic yeast-risen dough that can be readied in an afternoon. But the trick to great pretzels is dipping the pretzels in a liquid wash before baking — and not just any wash, but a combination of water and lye. That's what gives pretzels their terrific color, texture and flavor.

They're Boiled, Not Baked.

The dough is first shaped into a long rope and then boiled in water before being baked at a higher temperature than bread. This process creates a distinctive pretzel shape and gives them their unique taste.