This fried chicken bao bun is my take on an Asian version of the traditional taco. A fluffy and slightly sweet steamed bun filled with crispy karaage chicken, tangy pickled carrots, fresh vegetables, and a drizzle of spicy mayo. Your family and friends will be raving about it in no time!
Steamed lotus buns are flat bao buns that are folded in half. They are soft, milky, and slightly sweet – making them the perfect carrier for tender meat and fresh vegetables.
Growing up, I only knew the traditional way to eat these steamed lotus bao buns. This traditional dish is braised pork belly bun aka Kong Bak Pau (or Gua Bao). Kong Bak Pau is a simple dish – it is basically a freshly steamed lotus bun with a slice of melt-in-your-mouth pork belly in the middle. This pork belly would have been braised in a mixture of spices, soy sauce and dark soy sauce in the middle. The delicate sweetness from the pillowy bao bun paired with the sticky and moreish pork belly is truly a match made in heaven.
There is really nothing to complain about the classic Kong Bak Pau. However, it was only during my lunch breaks in between law lectures that I stumbled across a shop called “Mama Chow” in Adelaide city when I realised that these bao buns could be filled with so many different things!
Since then, I have been seeing more bao buns pop up in menus and I have started cooking it at home too.
So far, my favourite combination I have created at home is this karaage chicken taco bao bun. The combination of crispy karaage chicken, crunchy and slightly tangy pickled carrots, fresh shredded cabbage and cilantro, and creamy spicy mayo, all packed in a freshly steamed slightly sweet and fluffy bao bun will result in an abundance of both flavour and texture.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Karaage chicken I am using my Karaage Chicken recipe.
Steamed lotus bao buns Store-bought or homemade
Cabbage White cabbage thinly sliced or shredded. Use a mandoline slicer if you have one. If not, use a sharp knife to slice the cabbage.
Pickled carrots Find my Vietnamese Pickled Carrot recipe here. This recipe will give you more pickled carrots than you need for these fried chicken bao buns. It’s great to have extra as you can use pickled carrots in other dishes. If you would like to make a smaller quantity of pickled carrots, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Cilantro Roughly chopped
For the spicy mayo
Kewpie Mayo
Sriracha sauce Or any other spicy chilli sauce
HOW TO MAKE FRIED CHICKEN BAO BUN
Make the pickled carrots according to the recipe, here.
Make the karaage chicken according to the recipe, here.
While the chicken is frying, steam the store-bought bao buns as directed on the packaging. If using homemade bao buns, steam them as directed by the recipe you are using.
To make the spicy mayo, in a small bowl, mix kewpie mayo with siracha sauce. Set aside until ready to assemble.
To assemble the taco bao buns, open the bao bun and fill with some cabbage, pickled carrots and 1-2 pieces of karaage chicken. Dress with 1 teaspoon spicy mayo, and garnish with some cilantro. To ensure everything stays in place, stick a toothpick into the bao buns. Arrange them on a serving platter. Serve immediately.
PRO TIPS
Make pickled carrots the night before I like to always have a container of pickled carrots in my fridge. However, if you do not already have pickled carrots around, I suggest pickling some carrots the night before. This way, your carrots will be tastier, and you will have one less thing to make on the day.
Swap out bao buns If you do not have any bao buns available, or do not want to hassle of steaming them, you can swap them out for some traditional tortillas instead. These will make this dish resemble more to the traditional taco. However, you will miss out on the soft and sweet bao buns. So, choose the option depending on your preference and what you have available. Both options are delicious!
LOTUS STEAMED BAO BUN FILLINGS
As I mentioned earlier, there are so many different fillings you can stuff your steamed lotus buns with. So, apart from karaage chicken, you can swap it out for a different protein. Here are some of delicious bao bun ideas:
- Braised tofu in teriyaki sauce
- Shredded chicken
- Slow cooked pulled pork or beef
- Tempura prawns
- Braised or tempura shitake mushrooms
You can also change up the vegetables. For example, instead of the pickled carrots, you can substitute it with kimchi or yellow pickled daikon. If, you are not a fan of pickles, use cucumbers or lettuce instead.
The options are endless. Make it your own!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a steamed lotus bun?
We probably all know what a bao is. A fluffy white bun filled with either a savoury or sweet filling.
Lotus buns are basically a regular bao but with no filling. Instead, a lotus bao has, most commonly, a semi-circle shape, as the buns are folded over. This makes them the perfect steamed bun to easily fill ingredients with.
Where to buy lotus bao buns?
You should be able to find lotus bao buns in the Asian frozen section of your local supermarket. If not, you will most probably be able to Chinese lotus buns in the frozen section of your local Asian grocer.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE…
- Karaage Chicken
- Vietnamese Pickled Carrots
- Salted Egg Yolk Calamari
- Five-Spice Sticky Beef Ribs
- Matcha Brownies
- Thai Milk Tea
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Fried Chicken Bao Bun
Ingredients
Pickled Carrots
- 2 large carrots 4-5 oz
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Karaage Chicken
- 6 chicken thigh fillets cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp sake or rice vinegar or dry sherry
- 2 tsp ginger minced
- 1 tbsp mirin or rice vinegar
- 1 tsp ground black pepper optional
- 2 cup cornflour
- 2 tbsp water
- 4 cup neutral oil for frying
Spicy Mayo
- 4 tbsp kewpie mayo
- 2 tsp Sriracha sauce
Other Ingredients
- 10 steamed lotus bao buns
- 2 cup cabbage thinly sliced or shredded
- 1/3 cup cilantro or 1 small bunch, roughly chopped
Instructions
Make the pickled carrots
- Peel carrots, then cut with a knife or mandolin slicer medium to small sticks. Alternatively, use a spiraliser to make carrot 'noodles' to pickle. Smaller and thinner cuts will pickle faster.
- In a container, combine vinegar and sugar. Mix until sugar dissolves.
- Add the carrots, making sure they are fully submerged. If needed, add some room temperature boiled water until fully submerged.
- Close the container with the lid, and place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before eating. Keep the pickled carrots refrigerated in the pickling mixture for up to 1 month, or until too sour or carrots lose their crunch.
Make the karaage chicken
- In a large bowl or container, mix light soy sauce, sake, ginger, mirin and pepper. Add chicken thigh pieces and coat them in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or the container with a lid, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 12 hours. Marinating the chicken for a longer period will result in more flavour.
- Heat oil in a deep pot over medium heat to about 350F. If you do not have a thermometer, stick a wooden chopstick to the bottom of the pot, if small bubbles appear, the oil is ready. Alternatively, sprinkle a pinch of corn flour in the oil, if it starts of sizzle, the oil is ready.
- While the oil is heating up, make the corn flour crumble. Add 2 cups of corn flour to a shallow bowl. Add in 1 tbsp water into the cornflour and use a fork to mix until small lumps of corn flour forms. Repeat for remaining tbsp of water.
- Lightly press chicken pieces into the cornflour crumble until fully coated. Shake of any excess and set aside on a wire rack until ready to fry.
- Once the oil is hot enough, carefully place coated chicken pieces into the oil. Fry for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Transfer the cooked chicken to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towel to drain any excess oil. Continue for remaining chicken pieces.
- Transfer chicken to a serving plate and serve while it is still hot and crispy.
Steam the bao buns
- While the chicken is frying, steam the store-bought bao buns as directed on the packaging. If using homemade bao buns,steam them as directed by the recipe you are using.
Make spicy mayo
- To make the spicy mayo, in a small bowl, mix kewpie mayo with srirachaa sauce. Set aside until ready to assemble
Assemble
- To assemble the taco bao buns, open the bao bun and fill with some cabbage,pickled carrots and 1-2 pieces of karaage chicken. Dress with 1 teaspoon spicy mayo, and garnish with some cilantro. To ensure everything stays in place, stick a toothpick into the bao buns. Arrange them on a serving platter. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make pickled carrots the night before. I like to always have a container of pickled carrots in my fridge. However, if you do not already have pickled carrots around, I suggest pickling some carrots the night before. This way, your carrots will be tastier, and you will have one less thing to make on the day.
- Check out our post on pickled carrots for more tips on how to make our quick and easy pickled carrots, here.
