Baozi
Encyclopedia
A bāozi or simply known as bao, bau, humbow, nunu, bausak, pow or pau is a type of steamed
, filled bun
or bread
-like (i.e. made with yeast) item in various Chinese cuisines, as there is much variation as to the fillings and the preparations. In its bun-like aspect it is very similar to the traditional Chinese mantou
. It can be filled with meat
and/or vegetarian fillings.
Two types are found in most parts of China: Dabao, measuring about 10 cm across, served individually, and usually purchased for take-away. The other type, xiaobao, measure approximately 3 cm wide, and are most commonly eaten in restaurants. Each order consists of a steamer containing about 10 pieces. A small ceramic dish is provided for vinegar or soy sauce, both of which are available in bottles at the table, along with chilli paste.
(3rd century AD).
, and widely available. While they can be eaten at any meal
, bao are often eaten for breakfast
. Due to the long history of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia, the Malays have adopted these buns as their own. A particularly Malay form of the baozi (called pau in Malay) is filled with potato curry, chicken curry or beef curry that are similar to the fillings of Malay curry puffs. Some variants have a quail egg in the middle, in addition to the curry. Due to the Muslim beliefs of Malays, these buns are usually halal. You can find Malay stalls selling the buns by the roadside, at pasar malams (night markets), highway rest stops and pasar Ramadans (Ramadan food bazaars).
Steaming
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. Steaming is considered a healthy cooking technique and capable of cooking almost all kinds of food.-Method:...
, filled bun
Bun
A bun is a small, usually sweet, bread. Commonly they are hand-sized or smaller, domed in shape, with a flat bottom. A bun can also be a savory bread roll similar to a bap or barmcake....
or bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
-like (i.e. made with yeast) item in various Chinese cuisines, as there is much variation as to the fillings and the preparations. In its bun-like aspect it is very similar to the traditional Chinese mantou
Mantou
Mantou, often referred to as Chinese steamed bun/bread, is a kind of steamed bun originating in China. They are typically eaten as a staple in northern parts of China where wheat, rather than rice, is grown. They are made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents...
. It can be filled with meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
and/or vegetarian fillings.
Two types are found in most parts of China: Dabao, measuring about 10 cm across, served individually, and usually purchased for take-away. The other type, xiaobao, measure approximately 3 cm wide, and are most commonly eaten in restaurants. Each order consists of a steamer containing about 10 pieces. A small ceramic dish is provided for vinegar or soy sauce, both of which are available in bottles at the table, along with chilli paste.
History
According to legend, they were invented by the scholar and military strategist Zhuge LiangZhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
(3rd century AD).
Types
| English name | Chinese name | Other names | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cha siu baau Cha siu baau Cha siu bao or char siu bao is a Cantonese barbecue-pork-filled bun . The buns are filled with barbecue-flavored cha siu pork. They are served as a type of dim sum during yum cha and are sometimes sold in Chinese bakeries.-Variety:... , Charsiu bau |
manapua | filled with barbecue-flavoured char siu pork Char siu Char siu , otherwise known as barbecued meat in China or Chinese-flavored barbecued meat outside China, is a popular way to flavor and prepare pork in Cantonese cuisine. It is classified as a type of siu mei, Cantonese roasted meat... ; typical of Cantonese cuisine (Guangdong province and Hong Kong) |
|
| Goubuli baozi | the most definitive among all varieties; a meat-filled baozi variety from Tianjin Tianjin ' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government... , Northern China; its name literally means, "Dogs Will Ignore" |
||
| Xiaolongbao Xiaolongbao Xiaolongbao is a type of steamed bun or baozi from eastern China, especially Shanghai and Wuxi. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, hence the name... |
a small, meat-filled baozi from Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010... containing a juicy broth. Because it is succulent and prepared only with thin, partially leavened dough, it is sometimes considered different from other bao types, and more closely resembles a jiaozi Jiaozi Jiǎozi 餃子 or 饺子 , bánh bột luộc , gyōza , Mo:Mo: or Momocha म:म: or ममचा , or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling widely spread to Japan, Eastern and Western Asia.Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into... (dumpling) |
||
| Shengjian mantou Shengjian mantou Shengjian mantou are a type of small, pan-fried baozi which is a specialty of Shanghai. It is usually filled with pork and gelatin that melts into soup/liquid when cooked. Shengjian mantou has been one of the most common breakfast items in Shanghai for the last century... |
a small, meat-filled, fried baozi from Shanghai | ||
| Tangbaozi | a large soup-filled baozi from Yangzhou Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across... drunk through a straw Straw Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and... , in other areas of China, it is small in size with rich soup |
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| Doushabaozi | Hokkien Min Nan The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora.... : tāu-se-pau |
filled with sweet bean paste Sweet bean paste Sweet bean paste is a food ingredient used in several Asian cuisines. Within Chinese cuisine, it is primarily used as a filling for sweet desserts and Chinese pastry.- Production :... |
|
| Lotus seed bun Lotus seed bun Lotus seed bun is a Chinese pastry found in China. It is sometimes available in overseas Chinatowns. It can be classified as a dim sum, though not exclusively so.-Preparation:... |
filled with sweetened Lotus seed paste Lotus seed paste Lotus seed paste is a Chinese dessert ingredient made from dried lotus seeds. It is traditionally considered as a luxurious ingredient.-Production:... |
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| Kaya-baozi | filled with Kaya Kaya (jam) Coconut jam, Srikaya, or Kaya is a food spread, a fruit curd in the general sense, consumed mainly in Southeast Asia and made from a base of coconut and sugar.-Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore:... , a popular jam made from coconut Coconut The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word... , eggs Egg (food) Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes... , and sometimes pandan Pandanus amaryllifolius Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the screwpine genus which is known commonly as pandan and is used widely in Southeast Asian cooking as a flavoring. The plant is rare in the wild but is widely cultivated. It is an upright green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike... in Malaysia and Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
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| Naihuangbaozi | filled with sweet yellow custard filling | ||
| Zhimabaozi | steamed, filled with a black sesame paste | ||
| Beansprout-baozi | 芽菜包 | steamed, filled with a type of pickle, spices and possibly other vegetables or meat, common in Sichuan, China | |
| Ba Pau | 生肉包 (shēngròubāo) | filled with pork | |
| Big Pau | 大包 (dàbāo) | large buns filled with pork, eggs and other ingredients |
Culture
In many Chinese cultures, these buns are a popular foodFood
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
, and widely available. While they can be eaten at any meal
Meal
A meal is an instance of eating, specifically one that takes place at a specific time and includes specific, prepared food.Meals occur primarily at homes, restaurants, and cafeterias, but may occur anywhere. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day...
, bao are often eaten for breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
. Due to the long history of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia, the Malays have adopted these buns as their own. A particularly Malay form of the baozi (called pau in Malay) is filled with potato curry, chicken curry or beef curry that are similar to the fillings of Malay curry puffs. Some variants have a quail egg in the middle, in addition to the curry. Due to the Muslim beliefs of Malays, these buns are usually halal. You can find Malay stalls selling the buns by the roadside, at pasar malams (night markets), highway rest stops and pasar Ramadans (Ramadan food bazaars).
See also
- MomoMomo (food)Momo is a type of pastry native to Nepal as well as among the Tibetans. It is similar to the Mongolian buuz or the Chinese jiaozi.The Tibetan word momo is a loanword from the Chinese mómo .-Production:...
, the TibetanCuisine of TibetTibetan cuisine reflects local climes and customs. Few crops grow at the high altitudes that characterize Tibet, although a few areas in Tibet are low enough to grow such crops as rice, oranges, bananas, and lemon. The most important crop is barley. Flour milled from roasted barley, called tsampa,...
equivalent - NikumanNikumanNikuman is a Japanese food made from flour dough, and filled with cooked ground pork or other ingredients. It is a kind of chūka man similar to the Chinese baozi , also known in English as pork buns.Nikuman are steamed and often sold as street food...
(and Chūkaman), the JapaneseJapanese cuisineJapanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
variants - Bánh baoBánh baoBánh bao is a ball-shaped dumpling with pork or chicken meat, onions, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables inside, in Vietnamese cuisine. The steamed bun often has ground pork or chicken, Chinese sausage, and a portion of a hard-boiled egg inside...
, the Vietnamese equivalent - ManduMandu (dumpling)Mandu are dumplings in Korean cuisine. They are similar to pelmeni and pierogi in some Slavic cultures. The name is a cognate to the names of similar types of meat-filled dumplings in Central Asia, such as Turkish manti, Kazakh manty, and Uzbek manti.In Korean cuisine, mandu generally denotes a...
(Korean) are filled dumplings in Korean - manty/mantıMantiMantu are a type of dumpling in Turkish and various Central Asian and Northwest China and Caucasian cuisines, closely related to the east Asian mantou, baozi, and mandu and the Nepali momo. Manti dumplings archetypically consist of a spiced meat mixture, usually lamb or ground beef, in a dough...
(Turkic) TurkishTurkish cuisineTurkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including that of western Europe...
, Persian, and Pakhtan cuisines. - Manapua, the Hawaiian equivalent
- MantouMantouMantou, often referred to as Chinese steamed bun/bread, is a kind of steamed bun originating in China. They are typically eaten as a staple in northern parts of China where wheat, rather than rice, is grown. They are made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents...
Chinese steamed bread without filling. - DampfnudelDampfnudelDampfnudel is a sort of white bread eaten as a meal or as a dessert in Germany and in France . It is a typical dish in southern Germany.-Ingredients and preparation:...
and MaultascheMaultascheMaultaschen are a Swabian specialty food, consisting of an outer layer of pasta dough with a filling traditionally made of minced meat, smoked meat, spinach, bread crumbs and onions and flavored with various herbs and spices...
are similar German dishes. - SiopaoSiopaoSiopao is a Hokkien term for bāozi , literally meaning "steamed buns". It has also been incorporated in to Thai cuisine where it is called salapao ....
are steamed buns in Philippine cuisine. - SalapaoSiopaoSiopao is a Hokkien term for bāozi , literally meaning "steamed buns". It has also been incorporated in to Thai cuisine where it is called salapao ....
are steamed buns in Sino-Thai cuisine. - RavioliRavioliRavioli are a traditional type of Italian filled pasta. They are composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin egg pasta dough and are served either in broth or with a pasta sauce. The word ravioli is reminiscent of the Italian verb riavvolgere , though the two words are not...
- PierogiPierogiPierogi are dumplings of unleavened dough - first boiled, then they are baked or fried usually in butter with onions - traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit...
- WontonWontonNot to be confused with WantonA wonton is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines.-Filling:...
- KreplachKreplachKreplach are small dumplings filled with ground meat, mashed potatoes or another filling, usually boiled and served in chicken soup. They are similar to Italian tortellini and Chinese wontons. The dough is traditionally made of flour, water and eggs, kneaded and rolled out thin...
- KhinkaliKhinkaliKhinkali are Caucasian dumplings filled with various fillings such as mushrooms or cheese, but mostly with spiced meat with greens, onions and garlic. They are eaten plain, or with coarse black pepper. The meat filling is uncooked when the Khinkali is assembled, so when cooked the meat's juices...
- JiaoziJiaoziJiǎozi 餃子 or 饺子 , bánh bột luộc , gyōza , Mo:Mo: or Momocha म:म: or ममचा , or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling widely spread to Japan, Eastern and Western Asia.Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into...
- Chinese cardboard bun hoaxChinese cardboard bun hoaxThe cardboard-bun hoax was reported in July 2007 on Beijing Television's BTV-7 as an alleged undercover story revealing that street vendors were adding cardboard to their baozi , or pork buns...