Pillow soft steamed red bean buns(豆沙包) is one of the most popular Chinese dessert. Those lovely and soft steamed buns are so great for breakfast. In order to make those sweet red bean buns, I made sweet red bean paste firstly. For the recipe about how to make your own red bean paste (either easily smashed version and super smooth version), check it here. If you do not want to brother so much, sweet red bean paste for buns is available in many Asian stores.
Mix all the ingredients for the dough using low speed for 6-8 minutes until smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and set aside in warm place for 1 hour or until double in size (the time needed is very much depending on your room temperature).
Add around 2 tablespoon of flour in the dough and continue kneading the dough for 2 minutes at low speed in a stand mixer. Then transfer out and divide the dough into 6 or 8 portions. Shape each portion to a round ball. Then press it to a wrapper with thin edges and thicker center. Place around 1.5 tablespoon of red bean fillings in center.
Seal completely.
Turn the bun over and shape it into a dome. Repeat to finish the remaining buns.
I make 6 this time. Line your steamer and place the buns one by one, with space among each other. If you prefer smaller ones, you can make 8 buns with those ingredients.
Set up steamer, cover and rest for 15 minutes. Start fire and heat until boiling. Continue steam 18 too 20 minutes. Stand 5 minutes before lifting the lid.
- 200 g red bean paste filling
- 300 g all purpose flour
- 40 g sugar
- 1.5 tsp. sugar tolerant instant yeast
- 150 ml warm water ,or 180ml to 185ml warm milk, the best temperature for liquid is around 35 degree C.
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil ,corn oil
- a tiny pinch of salt
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In a stand mixer, place all of the dough ingredients in and then knead for 6-8 minutes at slow speed.
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Shape the dough into a ball and set aside in warm place for 1 hour or until double in size (the time needed is very much depending on your room temperature).
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Add around 2 tablespoon of flour in the dough and continue kneading the dough for 2 minutes at low speed in a stand mixer.
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Then transfer out and divide the dough into 6 or 8 portions. Shape each portion to a round ball. Press it to a wrapper with thin edges and thicker center. Place around 1.5 tablespoon of red bean fillings in center. Seal completely and turn over and shape it into a dome.
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Place the buns on baking papers and then place in steamer. Cover the lid and rest for another 15 to 20 minutes at a room temperature around 28 degree C to 30 degree C. In cold water days, heat water in a pot for several minutes until warm but not boiling and then place the steamer on the warm water, rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
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Start the fire and steam the buns for another 20 minutes, turn off fire and stand for 5 minutes before enjoying.
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Re-steam the buns if they are cooled. No changes for the taste.
You can use fine and smooth red bean paste to make red bean buns too.
I’m so excited to have found this recipe! I love red bean anything. <3
Hi Elyse,
I am so glad that you like it. I love those lovely and yummy red beans too.
Is there anyway to make these without special steamer? Like I have a metal veggie steamer but I don’t know if that will work? I really want to make these!
Hi Lisa,
You can make it with metal steamer.Just make sure that the steamer can be covered completely. Besides you need to place a oil pepper or some leaves firstly on the steamer.
do you have to use a steamer???
plsss tel me
They really need to be steamed. This is what I did the first time I made these as I didn’t have a steamer. Buy two disposable pie tins(the metal kind) poke holes in the bottom of both of them. Place one upside down inside a large pot and put some water in it(not enough to go over the top of the pie tin) in the other pie tin, line the bottom with parchment paper and load with buns as normal. Place this pie tin right side up on top of the one in side the pot. And steam as normal. To try and describe it better, the empty tin on the bottom will have the time against the pot(so that it is upside down) and the other one will be the normal way pie tins are used. To be able to use more space, I flattened the top tin so that I could fit more buns on it but if your pot is not wide enough don’t worry about trying to flatten it.
Just made these! For anyone wondering, I used about 2-1/2 cups flour (used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached), and about 2/3 cup warm water (and a few more tablespoons, just to get a dough). The dough is chewy and would be great for breakfast!
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for the feedback. The water needed for a dough sometimes is differ from the flour.
If I wanted to could I use a different dough recipe and still steam them or is this dough specifically for this and for steaming ?
Hi Alex,
This is a really general dough Chinese steamed buns. So you can change the filling to make pork bun,chicken bun or custard bun etc. Go ahead to https://chinasichuanfood.com/?s=steamed+buns. I hope it can be inspirational.
I tried your recipe but the bun didn’t rise to the fullest after steamed. Can you tell me any possible reasons to this? Thank you!
Hi Ainaa,
If the bun did not rise, the most possible reason is the proofing process. The process may fail especially in winter when the room temperature is quite low. You will need to increase yeast amount, lengthen the proofing process or place the dough in a warmer place (around 30 degree C).
Do we have to use a steamer plss tel meeeeeeeeeeeeee ☺?
I dont have a steamer thats why
You could try putting a pot of water in your oven and letting that steam, and then adding the buns
That’s a great idea, Kaitlyn. Thanks for sharing.
Love this recipe! However can I use canned beans instead of the bean paste? It would be easier to make 🙂
Hi Ana,
Yes canned sweet beans can be used here as a filling. That’s a nice shortcut!
In my local bakery, they sell a red bean loaf that’s not made with paste, but just with the beans sprinkled through it. If I want to make this bread, do I need to cook the beans beforehand?
Yes, the beans should be pre-cooked with water, sugar(or honey) until quite soft. We call that sugared red beans.
Going to try and make this today~ I have been drooling over the thought all day at work – Thank you so much for this recipe 😀
Do I need a steamer basket like the one pictured, or will a metal steamer pan work? Would I need to coat it with oil or anything like that?
Hi,
Both bamboo steamer and metal steamer can work and there is no need to coat it with anything. That’s how we steam traditional Chinese buns.
I just finished a batch. They came out excellently. The flavor is REALLY nice.
I made mine by pureeing the cooked beans (skin on) for the paste in the food processor, and just adding the sugar and butter to the food processor as it pureed.
I think next time I make a batch, I’ll double the recipe, and once I get to the point where I’m ready to steam them, I’ll freeze half of the buns. That way I can just pull them out of the freezer, let them thaw, and have ready to steam buns.
From Italg..tx!
Thank you for the recipe! Just wondering if I could use this recipe to make some extra designs (exp: panda, hello kitty etc)? Was afraid that the designs won’t hold up as some bao recipe rises too much and the designs will go funny after steaming.
Your ideas are absolutely practical. To obtain the designs, do not over-proof the buns. It worked perfectly for me.
https://snapguide.com/guides/bake-japanese-red-bean-buns/ this version is baked.
Hi Ryan,
The baked version has a different dough. I mean this dough is only for steamed buns. You can make red bean paste as a filling in milk buns: https://chinasichuanfood.com/milk-bread/
I lost the recipe my sister used to use so I made these and they turned out exactly as they should.
I loved this recipe! Do you have any tips on preventing wrinkling/dimples on the surface of the buns? There must be something I’m doing wrong 🙁
Thank you!
The second kneading is not enough. You need to lengthen the time until there is no bubbles inside.
Hi I am so excited to find this recipe and cant wait to try it! Two questions: Can I use milk instead of water? Second, can I freeze some of the buns for later? If I freeze it, do I freeze the dough or I should steam the buns first and then freeze the cooked buns? Thanks for sharing!
Steam first and then freeze, otherwise the yeast will be killed.
Would it be possible to make these gluten free?
I am sorry, J. But without gluten, we cannot make a fluffy steamed bun.
I made this with the bread machine to knead it. Everything seem alright till steaming. It rose a lot during steaming, then shrunk and caused all the wrinkles.
Any tips? Thanks
Hi Snoop,
The buns are over fermented. Is the room temperature very hot?
I used packaged red been paste and they came out really well. The to pressing and shaping of the wrappers were kinda difficult at first.
Jason,
Thanks for the feedback. Making bun wrappers need some practices.
Im so happy i stumbled onto your page! Love your recipes, can’t wait to try them!
Happy cooking!
This dough was so soft to work with! Thank you for the recipe!! My Chinese friend gave me some of her homemade red bean paste and it was just enough to fill these buns. I am sitting down to eat my first one now and love it so much, I had to leave you a comment. Thank you!
For those without a steamer, I tried two different steaming methods. First (and best!), I used a metal vegetable steamer in a tall stock pot. I placed paper towels at the bottom of the pan and a canning jar on top of that, to elevate the metal steamer and keep the bottoms of my bao from getting wet. I used flattened cupcake wrappers underneath the dumplings to keep them from sticking, and placed 4 dumplings in the steamer basket. I also tilted the lid on my pot so that steam could escape while cooking. Worked like a charm!
While that was cooking, I tried steaming the other 4 in my instant pot pressure cooker. I used the steamer trivet that came with the pot, added about 1 cup of water, and steamed for 7 minutes. These were done quicker than the stovetop bao, but the dough turned out chewy and not as fluffy. The bottoms of the bao were too close to the water and got wet, and I think because there was no way for the steam to escape, the dough got too soggy. They still taste fine, but the stovetop was better!
Rachel,
Thanks so much for such a wonderful comment. I believe you enjoyed the sweet pillow soft buns when reading your comments.
Hi Elaine,
Thank you for this easy recipe! I made it two nights ago with organic canned black beans and honey. It only took me 40 minutes to boil it soft. I didn’t need to add any butter. To make the smooth paste I just mixed the boiled water in it. That one can was the perfect amount to make your red bean buns. P.S-The strainer technique does wonders! Thanks!
Esmay,
Thanks so much for your lovely feedback. Yes the strainer makes it perfect. Happy cooking!
Delicious looking recipe but I’m curious about the number of servings the recipe makes. You write that it makes 16 servings but in the instructions it says to divide the dough into 6 or 8 portions. Could you clarify?
Thanks for the correctness. 300g dough can make around 6-8 buns, but quite large. Serving 16 might be confusing so I have already updated it to 6.
can you freeze these after making them? and how long can you freeze them? The mantou too
For homemade buns and mantou, I suggest eating them within 1 week after frozen.