Instant Pot Steam Buns

Instant Pot Steam Buns

I don’t know how I lived my life without my Instant Pot. My Instant Pot Duo Crisp plus Air Fryer Lid just made my life too easy in the kitchen. When I made the Strawberry Scones, that took only twelve minutes compared with the conventional oven in which you have to preheat the oven.  Cooking your Pork Chashu in the Instant Pot makes the cooking time shorter and easy to clean up. No grease in your stove. And it only took only fifteen minutes to pressure cook compared to one and half hours of stovetop cooking. I love my Instant Pot so much that I am using Instant Pot to make my favorite buns-Siopao.

These buns are called Siopao in the Philippines and Bao Buns in Vietnam. My mom brought this when she had a conference in a different town and when I was in college, I often have this as snacks. I am glad that I learned to make it for my family here in the USA.

Today, I will teach you:

1. How to make Siopao from scratch using my dough recipe. This recipe yields very fluffy and soft buns.
2. How to store steamed buns.
3. How to reheat them in the Instant Pot.
4. How long do you steam buns in the Instant Pot?

Equipment

I want to emphasize each instant pot is different, and some settings may not be on the instant pot you got. In my case, I am using Instant Pot Duo Crisp 11-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker with Air Fryer Lid, 8 Quart. This Instant pot doesn’t have the rice setting, so I am using the pressure cooker setting.

Ingredients Instant Pot Steam Buns

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

How to Make it?

Step one: Warm the water in the microwave for thirty seconds. Add the sugar, and canola oil to a medium-sized bowl, and add in the active dry yeast. Mix ingredients until the active dry yeast are dissolved. Let the yeast mixture rest for five minutes or until bubbly.

Step two: Place all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder in the mixing bowl and mix using a wire whisk. Attach the mixing bowl to the electric stand mixer and attach the hook attachment. Add in the yeast mixture and mix at low speed until the yeast mixture and the flour mixture starts to combine. Scrape the flour on the sides of the bowl and change the speed to medium. Continue mixing until the dough forms, This takes about seven to eight minutes of mixing.

Step three: Remove the dough from the bowl and brush the bowl with oil. Form the dough into a ball and put it back in the oil bowl. Turn the Bao Bun dough to coat with the oil. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place to rise for one hour.

Step four: After an hour, sprinkle your working space with flour and form the dough into a log and divide the dough using a dough cutter. This recipe yields five pieces of buns. Fill the dough with homemade filling and seal. Cut parchment paper into 5 pieces. And place it under the dough. Line the dough into the Instant Pot dehydrating tray and let it rest for another thirty minutes.

Step five: Add three cups of water into the inner pot. Place the steamer rack and cover with a pressure cooker lid. Set the timer to three minutes and push the steam button.

What Filling Recipe Did I Use?

I have various Steam Buns Recipe Filling on the blog and all of them are tasty and delicious. You can use the list below to fill your steam buns.

• Gua Bao  -I use pork belly in this recipe. You can change the meat into pork roast or pork shoulder
• Chicken/ Pork Filling– this is on the sweeter side, which is my favorite. Use pork instead of chicken.
• Meatball Filling– ALthough not your typical filling, I love meatball filling too. The meatballs were steamed ahead of time to ensure that there is no raw meat in the buns.

Can you freeze Siopao?

Yes. You can freeze the Siopao after cooking. Simply line them in a large ziplock and freeze.

How do you reheat frozen steam buns in the Instant Pot?

There are two ways to heat frozen steam buns.

1. You can reheat steam buns in the Instant pot while frozen. Simply add three cups of water to the inner pot and place the steaming rack. Line the steam buns in it and cover with the pressure cooker lid. Set the timer to two minutes.
2. Next is the easier and faster way. Wrap the frozen buns with a damp paper towel and microwave for thirty seconds.