Bao with pulled hoisin jackfruit

Ingredients

For the buns

160 ml warm water + more if dough is too dry

2 and 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

Pinch of salt

2 cups all purpose flour

For the filling

400g of jackfruit (1 can) rinsed and drained

1 spring onion finely chopped

1 tablespoon of ginger

3 medium garlic cloves

1 teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice

1 tablespoon of rice vinegar

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of maple syrup

2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce

Additional toppings/garnishes

Red cabbage finely sliced

Cucumber chopped into matchsticks

Carrots chopped into matchsticks

Red chillies

Coriander

Hoisin sauce

Crushed peanuts

Steps

To make the buns

1. Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water, cover and set aside for around 10 minutes

2. Mix the flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl, once the yeast mixture is read, pour it slowly into the flour and start to bring it all together into a clump. Once you have finished pouring in the yeast mix, knead the dough until its soft (but not sticky) and smooth. Add more water if needed, do this slowly (1 tablespoon at a time)

3. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with a kitchen towel or cling film and leave to rest for 1.5-2 hours or once the dough has doubled in size

4. Cut ten 4 inch squares of parchment paper and line them up on a baking sheet.

5. Once the dough has risen, knead for a few minutes to get rid of any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 10 even balls. Place each ball on the parchment paper, cover with a towel and leave for 30 minutes

6. After 30 mins roll each of the balls out into a circle roughly 1/4 inch thick. Brush the surface of each of the circles with oil and fold them in half. Place each folded piece of dough on the cooking paper, cover with a towel and leave for another 30 minutes

7. Set up the pan with water and bamboo steamer. Bring the water to a simmer and then transfer the pieces of dough with the paper into the bamboo steamer. Cover, and steam until puffed, 9 to 11 minutes. Work in batches if not enough space in your steamer

8. Stuff the buns with the jackfruit filling and other garnishes as soon as they are cooked.
   

To make the filling

1. Prepare the jackfruit by cutting into smaller pieces (if you have large chunks) and squashing gentle so that the stringy part spreads out

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan, add the spring onion and fry till softened

3. Add the garlic and ginger, fry for another minute until softened

4. Add the Chinese 5 spice and fry for another minute

5. Add the soy sauce, maple syrup, vinegar and hoisin sauce and fry for a few minutes on low heat until everything is fully combined

6. Add the jackfruit, mix with the sauce and cook on medium to low heat until it has soaked up all the sauce.