Bao Buns for Brunch?!

The English Breakfast Society has welcomed bao buns as a part of a morning fry-up. Here's my take...

A leapfrog over May and here we are in June. Forgive me for calling this a monthly newsletter as May – with exams, deadlines, long shifts at Hay Festival, half marathon training, a weekend in Portugal and many social plans – simply ran away with me. It was a busy month to say the least. But when I saw The Telegraph report that the English Breakfast Society, devoted to promoting the traditional English breakfast, has added an exotic twist to their plate with breakfast bao buns, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about for my next edition of Brunch Club.

As much as I love the standard poached egg and avo on toast, I am always in the market for ways to spice up my brunch plate and, as a bao fan, I was intrigued when I saw this news. I had to give brunch bao buns a go myself!

Bao what?

Bao buns, otherwise known as baozi, are an Asian delicacy that the modern foodie world has greeted with open arms. Traditionally they are a white dough stuffed with a filling of choice and steamed to perfection. The filling is typically pulled pork, duck and chicken for meat lovers or tofu for plant-based eaters.

Bao originated in Northern China and dates back to the Three Kingdoms period in the third century. The original bao bun was a fist-sized ball made with flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil. As the delicacy’s popularity spread throughout Asia, it differed from place to place with each country putting their own spin on it, some due to climate, others to suit different tastes. The climate difference in Hong Kong made a more suitable environment for growing rice, so the bao buns here were made with rice flour rather than wheat flour. Whereas bao become a popular fast food in Taiwan and bao soup dumplings were preferred in Shanghai.

Brunch with a bao twist

Until now I had only eaten bao buns at Wagamama and food festivals and hadn’t really considered making any at home. Not quite trusting myself to make any half decent ones from scratch, I went for store bought buns. But, in the process, I discovered unfilled bao buns are not so easy to find in supermarkets. Failed by Asda and Tesco I ended up in trusty M&S where I secured a pack of eight buns for £3.

The filling? Scrambled egg, halloumi and honey coated chorizo. The method? I diced up the chorizo and halloumi and fried them off with a drizzle of olive oil and honey. There’s many methods and much debate around scrambling eggs. I stuck to the simple and trustworthy technique of stirring and scraping them in a pan with melted butter. The rest needs little explaining. Once the halloumi was part bronzed, the chorizo cooked through and eggs optimally fluffy, I loaded up three bao buns (which I heated, as per the packet instructions, for 90 seconds in the microwave) with salt and pepper seasoning.

Softness of the buns paired well with the fluffy eggs and tougher chew of the chorizo and halloumi. The honey and buns added a sweet kick to the savoury meal, making a yummy brunch that was a nice change.  

Yet, as much as I enjoyed these bao buns, I can’t say they topped a fluffy crumpet. In my opinion, bao buns are more suited to their usual scene filled with flavourful chicken or beef, Asian slaw and sriracha.