Bánh Bao: Fluffy Vietnamese Steamed Pork & Egg Buns (Full Recipe)
Bánh Bao is the bun that defines Vietnamese bakery windows: snow-white, cloud-soft dough wrapped around savoury pork and a wedge of egg. Recipe 29 of 34 in the Pai's Kitchen collection gives you the full method — including the two details that decide whether your buns stay sealed in the steamer.
Key takeaways
- Fry the pork filling until the pan is nearly dry and cool it completely — wet filling is the #1 cause of burst buns.
- Dough: 280 g flour, 136 ml warm milk, 4 g yeast, proofed 45 minutes until doubled.
- Pinch the seam tight and steam seam-down over boiling water for 15 minutes, lid on.
- Done when the bun springs back to a press and the filling is piping hot with no pink.
🎁 Free companion for this guide
The free Recipe Packs pairs with this guide — and Pai Recipes app puts it into practice, starting with a free trial.
Free tool
Recipe Unit Converter — Convert grams ↔ cups ↔ ounces for any ingredient in this recipe.
Ingredients (8 buns)
Dough: all-purpose flour 280 g · warm milk 136 ml · sugar 20 g (5 tsp) · dry yeast 4 g (1¼ tsp) · baking powder 3 g (¾ tsp). Filling: ground pork 180 g · onion, finely chopped 40 g · fish sauce 8 g (1½ tsp) · 1 egg, hard-boiled and cut into 8 pieces (50 g). Per bun (estimated): 205 kcal, protein 9.6 g, carbs 30.9 g, fat 4.4 g. Total time about 1 hour 40 minutes.
Method, step by step
1) Stir-fry the pork with the onion over medium heat (~175°C) for 5 minutes until no pink remains and the pan is nearly dry; stir in the fish sauce and cool completely. Boil the egg 9 minutes, cool, peel, cut into 8. 2) Bloom the yeast in warm milk (32°C) with the sugar for 5 minutes; knead with flour and baking powder 6 minutes; proof 45 minutes until doubled. 3) Divide into 8 pieces, flatten each, add a spoonful of cooled pork and one piece of egg, pinch sealed tight, set seam-down on parchment, proof 15 minutes. 4) Steam over boiling water (100°C) for 15 minutes with the lid on; rest 2 minutes before opening.
Put this into practice: Pai Recipes app
Find Bánh Bao and 2,000+ complete recipes in the Pai Recipes app — and start free with the six recipe packs.
Pai Recipes app is $6/mo, $61.20/yr or $120 lifetime — or get it inside the All Apps Pass ($72/mo) with every other app.
Why buns burst — and the fix
Two causes, both avoidable. Filling that is still wet steams from inside and blows the seam open — that is why step 1 insists on a nearly dry pan and fully cooled filling. And a seam pinched too thin stretches and tears as the bun expands — pinch generously and rest the bun seam-down so the weight helps the seal. Watch the video above to see the pinch done at real speed.
Put it into practice
Find Bánh Bao and 2,000+ complete recipes in the Pai Recipes app — and start free with the six recipe packs.
Get the free Recipe Packs Pai Recipes app
Or get every Pai Digital app in one plan: the All Apps Pass — $72/mo, $734.40/yr or $1,440 lifetime, with free trials on every app.
Frequently asked questions
Can I freeze Bánh Bao?
Yes — steam them fully, cool, freeze in a single layer, then bag. Re-steam from frozen for about 18–20 minutes and they taste freshly made.
Why is my dough not white and fluffy?
Over-proofing dulls the colour and slackens the dough; under-kneading makes it dense. Knead the full 6 minutes, proof just until doubled, and keep the steamer lid on — peeking drops the steam and wrinkles the tops.
What other fillings work?
The same dough wraps salted-egg custard, mushroom and glass-noodle (chay), or char siu pork. Keep any filling dry and fully cooled before sealing.
Recommended next reads
Kitchen & RecipesBánh Bông Lan: Tall, Soft Vietnamese Butter Sponge Cake (Full Recipe)
The complete Bánh Bông Lan recipe from Pai's Kitchen: whipped-egg ribbon method, 170°C, no sunk centre. Ingredients in grams, doneness signs, mistakes to avoid.
Kitchen & RecipesThịt Nướng: Vietnamese Lemongrass Grilled Pork for Bánh Mì (Full Recipe)
Complete Thịt Nướng recipe: 20-minute lemongrass marinade, ripping-hot sear, 63°C doneness. The grilled pork that fills a proper bánh mì thịt nướng.
Product NewsLearn English With Pip & Mia: Free Beginner Stories on English Mini Stories
English Mini Stories teaches real beginner English through Pip the panda and Mia's story episodes — one complete story per video, plus the Global English Academy for test prep.
Watch next
Prefer reading? Read the guide: Bánh Bông Lan: Tall, Soft Vietnamese Butter Sponge Cake (Full Recipe)
This recipe video is AI-generated for education and entertainment. Follow food safety practices, cook meats to safe internal temperatures, and verify doneness with visual cues and a thermometer. Nutrition values are estimates.
💬 Over to you
Did your buns stay sealed through the steam? If one burst, was the filling still wet or the seam too thin? Your answer helps the next baker.
Share it in the comments below — every comment gets a reply.
Comments
Comments are moderated to keep this page clean: first comments and anything containing a link are checked by a human before they appear, and spam is blocked automatically. Your email is never shown — it only tells the moderator you are a returning reader.
Loading comments…