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Bola-Bola Siopao – Filipino Style Steamed “Pork” Buns with a tasty “meat”ball filling made with plant-based ground meat for the hearty bite.

These really hit the spot and I love having siopao for a hearty merienda (afternoon snack). These are also super handy to have since you can just reheat some when you’re craving some!

WHAT IS SIOPAO? 

Siopao is the Filipino version of Chinese buns or bao zi, 包子. Here we have Asado Siopao, which is a Filipino version of Char Siu Baos. Asado is the term we use for char siu, the barbecue meat used as filling.

This Bola-Bola Siopao is literally meatball bun since ‘bola-bola’ is the Filipino term for meatball.

I have a Vegan Filipino Bola-Bola (Meatball) recipe that uses a mix of tofu and plant-based ground “meat” or mince but for this recipe I highly recommend to use plant-based ground like Omnipork, Lightlife, Beyond Meat, for an even meatier texture.

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THESE SIOPAO

Wet Yeast Mixture

• instant yeast
• warm soy milk or oat milk (or regular milk)
• oil

Dry Mixture

• all-purpose flour
• sugar
• fine salt

The full detailed recipe is below!

The “Meat”/Bola-Bola Filling

• plant-based ground pork or mince I used Omnipork Mince
• hiitake mushrooms finely minced (feel free to use fresh or rehydrated or other mushrooms of your choice)
• ginger, finely grated
• garlic, minced
• sugar
• sesame oil
• 5 spice powder (optional), substitute with some white pepper and a pinch of cinnamon
• Shaoxing wine
• vegetarian oyster sauce
• soy sauce
• chopped spring onions or scallions
• corn starch

PREPARE THE DOUGH

Yeast Mixture

• Mix the yeast and the warm milk together. Leave for 10 minutes or until it foams up.
• Afterwards, mix in the oil.

Dry Mixture and Kneading the Dough

• Meanwhile, mix together all the dry ingredients. While mixing, add in the yeast-milk mixture. You can use a stand mixture for this and combine until you have a dough. You can also use your hands to knead the dough. Feel free to add 1-2 tbsp water to the mixture if it’s dry and doesn’t come together very well. Continue to need until the dough no longer sticks to your hands and you have a ball of dough.
• Place the dough back into the bowl. Cover with a towel and leave to double in size at room temperature or in a warm place, for around 1 hour.

SEASON THE SIOPAO FILLING

Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. If preparing this mixture in advance, make sure to cover and seal it well to prevent from drying.

PREPARE THE WRAPPERS

• Flour your work surface as well as your rolling pin.
• Place the ball of dough on the surface, then punch a hole in the middle with your finger. Pull apart the dough until you have a large ring.
• Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Each piece will be around 40 grams. Shape each piece into a small ball.
• Place the dough balls back into the ball and cover these to prevent from drying.

SHAPING AND PLEATING THE BUNS OR SIOPAO

• You can also check the video to see a complete step-by-step on how I made these!
• Get 1 piece of dough, place it on a floured surface flatted with your palm, and then roll out with your rolling pin until you have a round shape. While rolling, rotate clockwise to an angle and only roll over 1” of the edges, to create thinner margins with a thicker base. This will make it easier to plate the buns later on.
• Add 1-1.5 tbsp of the filling on the centre of your wrapper. Make sure you do not add too much filling to keep the edges clean so that your bun will seal well. Pleat the buns, twist, and seal well.

PROOFING THE BUNS OR SIOPAO

• Proof the buns: place the buns in a bamboo steamer or your steamer and cover these. Leave to proof for 20-30 more minutes. 

STEAM THE SIOPAO AND ENJOY!

• Afterwards, steam the buns for 12-15 minutes. After turning off the heat, do not immediately open your steamer and allow to slightly cool for 5 minutes. This will help keep the buns fluffy since any immediate temperature change can deflate the buns.
• Enjoy while hot!

OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

• Crispy Wontons
• Vegetable Dumplings
• Chinese Chive Pies
• Pan-Fried Cabbage and Noodle Buns
• Wontons in Chili Broth
• Scallion and Sesame Buns
• Scallion Bing or Flat Bread

Vegan Bola-Bola Siopao (Filipino Steamed “Pork”/”Meat”ball Buns)

5 from 2 votes

These Vegan Bola-Bola Siopao or Filipino Style Steamed “Pork” Buns are filled with a tasty “meat”ball filling. These are delicious as an afternoon snack (merienda) for a really hearty bite.

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Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Finger Food, Main Course, Snack, Snacks, Starters

Cuisine Chinese, East Asian, Filipino, Southeast Asian

Servings 12 small buns

Calories 131 kcal

Equipment

• Rolling Pin
• Bamboo Steamer or steamer with lid (see notes)

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Wet Yeast Mixture

• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 2/3 cup warm soy milk or oat milk (or regular milk)
• 2 tsp oil

Dry Mixture

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp fine salt

Filling

• 1/2 lb plant-based ground pork or mince I used Omnipork Mince
• 4 shiitake mushrooms finely minced (feel free to use fresh or rehydrated or other mushrooms of your choice)
• 1/2 small thumb ginger finely grated
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp 5 spice powder optional, substitute with some white pepper and a pinch of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce or more to taste
• 3/4 cup chopped spring onions or scallions
• 1/2 tbsp corn starch

Instructions

 

• You can watch the video for a complete step-by-step.

Yeast Mixture

• Mix the yeast and the warm milk together. Leave for 10 minutes or until it foams up.
• Afterwards, mix in the oil.

Dry Mixture and Kneading the Dough

• Meanwhile, mix together all the dry ingredients. While mixing, add in the yeast-milk mixture. You can use a stand mixture for this and combine until you have a dough. You can also use your hands to knead the dough. Feel free to add 1-2 tbsp water to the mixture if it’s dry and doesn’t come together very well. Continue to need until the dough no longer sticks to your hands and you have a ball of dough.
• Place the dough back into the bowl. Cover with a towel and leave to double in size at room temperature or in a warm place, for around 1 hour.

Prepare the Filling

• Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. If preparing this mixture in advance, make sure to cover and seal it well to prevent from drying.

Making the Buns

• Flour your work surface as well as your rolling pin.
• Place the ball of dough on the surface, then punch a hole in the middle with your finger. Pull apart the dough until you have a large ring.
• Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Each piece will be around 40 grams. Shape each piece into a small ball.
• Place the dough balls back into the ball and cover these to prevent from drying.
• Get 1 piece of dough, place it on a floured surface flatted with your palm, and then roll out with your rolling pin until you have a round shape. While rolling, rotate clockwise to an angle and only roll over 1” of the edges, to create thinner margins with a thicker base. This will make it easier to plate the buns later on.
• Add 1-1.5 tbsp of the filling on the centre of your wrapper. Make sure you do not add too much filling to keep the edges clean so that your bun will seal well. Pleat the buns, twist, and seal well.
• Proof the buns: place the buns in a bamboo steamer or your steamer and cover these. Leave to proof for 20-30 more minutes.
• Afterwards, steam the buns for 12-15 minutes. After turning off the heat, do not immediately open your steamer and allow to slightly cool for 5 minutes. This will help keep the buns fluffy since any immediate temperature change can deflate the buns.
• Enjoy while hot!

WATCH Video

Notes

STEAMER

• If you don’t have a bamboo steamer and have a metal steamer with a metal/glass lid, I recommend to wrap the cover with a towel. This way the towel can absorb some of the moisture from the steam. Excess moisture that builds up can cause the buns to be wet and soggy if the water drips to the buns.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Serving: 1small bun | Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 52IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg

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