Nothing better than some crispy fried chicken stuffed inside delicious, soft, steamed buns. These are truly amazing, I made them three days in a row this Ramadan and I’m completely in love with them!

The recipe is comparatively quite simple, the chicken has a spicy marinade which is left to marinate in the fridge overnight or 8 hours (although you can keep it for just 20mins if you are less on time). We then double coat the chicken with plain flour along with the marinade itself and fry them up.

For the Bao buns, the dough is first prepared and left to proof for an hour. It is then flattened to a sheet and rounds are cut using a cookie cutter or a slightly edged glass. These dough rounds are then folded in half and with a slight pressure of a rolling pin, they are flattened a little further. Covered and proofed for atleast another 30mins and then steamed until perfectly cooked.

If you want a visual demonstration of how to make the buns, do check this video by Seonkyoung Longest, I got the recipe from her and I have done absolutely no changes to it since I found it perfect everytime I made them. Also you can skip this process and just use store-bought baos to make these as well.

The fried chicken complements well with the bun, and adding a spicy mayo sauce along with some freshly chopped lettuce enhances the taste and makes it look gorgeous.

I can’t wait until you try them out, I am sure you will devour these spicy, fried Chicken baos!

Fried Chicken Bao buns

Recipe by Aysha SaihaCourse: AppetizersDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Total time-Bao

hours

minutes

Chicken Marination time

hours

Assembling

minutes

Ingredients

For the Bao Buns
1/3 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
2 + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 Tsp baking powder
1/4 Tsp salt, or to taste
For the Fried Chicken
500gm chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup sriracha sauce
1 Tsp chilli powder + 1 Tsp garlic powder + 1 Tsp Paprika + Salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil, for frying
For assembling
A handful of thinly chopped lettuce
Spicy Mayonnaise ( 1/2 cup mayonnaise + 3 Tbsp Sriracha sauce + 1 Tsp paprika)

Directions

Make the Bao Buns
In a large cup, add the warm water, milk, yeast, 2 Tbsp sugar and vegetable oil. Stir just a little and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast.
Meanwhile, add the flour, baking powder, salt and another 2 Tbsp sugar into a bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to evenly combine.
Pour the activated yeast mixture into the flour, and using a hook attachment starting from low and later to medium speed, let the dough come together and knead for about 8-10 minutes.
When the dough is ready, it will not stick to your fingers and will easily come together into a ball. Let it then rest inside the bowl for about an hour or two, covered with a towel.
Once the dough rises, roll it into a 1/4th inch thick sheet. You do not need to flour the surface, but if you are choosing to do so, use very less flour.
Use round cookie cutters/ molds or an edged glass, to cut out circles from the sheet of dough. Fold them into half and using slight pressure using a rolling pin, flatten it a little further. Cover and keep for 30mins to rise again. Repeat with entire dough.
Prepare your steamer with parchment paper, and once your water starts to steam, put your steamer pot on top of the water and keep your buns inside the pot ensuring an inch distance between all the baos.
Cook them for about 8-12 minutes and they will be ready!
Prepare the Fried Chicken
In a mixing bowl, mix together the Buttermilk, Sriracha sauce and the spices. Now add in the chunks of chicken and let it marinate overnight (covered with cling in the fridge). If you are in a hurry, then about a minimum of 20mins.
After it is marinated, you can heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan on medium-high flame.
While it heats up, add the flour into a small tray/plate, this will be your dry coating. Similarly your wet coating is the marinade, drain the chicken marinade into another bowl for easy application.
Start by coating the marinated chicken with the flour, follow it by giving it a second coating of the wet chicken marinade and then put it back into the flour. Press it well so it gets a firm, even coating.
Once the oil heats up (approx 170°C), add 5-6 pieces chicken at a time and let it cook for about 8-10 or until it gets a crispy golden-brown colour and cooked all the way through. Remove and keep it on a paper towel once done.
Assemble and Serve
To assemble, open up the Bao bun, spread a little spicy mayo on the inside, then add a piece of fried chicken, top it up with some lettuce and serve!