I have been wanting to make these for awhile, I had picked up some bao buns from the Asian market quite some time ago and they have been sitting in the freezer waiting for me to make something with them. I generally make crispy pork belly with these buns, and I love me some pork belly, however it is a long process to make pork belly and I always have chicken on hand, I rarely have pork belly on hand.
I had some chicken thighs that I wanted to use up and this recipe worked. I will confess the bun portion of this meal was a little disappointing, completely my fault; I should have steamed them. The package said that we could use the microwave. Yes I know better, but we tried it and learned our lesson.
The chicken and slaw were a huge hit and I will be making these again, but will break out my bamboo steamer for sure! The recipe may look like a lot of ingredients but it doesn’t take too long to get everything together and enjoy your efforts!
Crispy Chicken Bao Buns
Ingredients
Sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger fresh or bottled
- ⅔ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tablepsoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon All Spice or Chinese five spice
Slaw
- ¼ green cabbage
- ¼ purple cabbage
- 1 carrot peeled and sliced into strips or grated
- 1 scallion thinly sliced into strips
- ½ bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ lemon squeezed
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
Chicken
- 1 package chicken thighs or breast
- 4 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼-½ cup canola oil for pan frying
Instructions
Sauce
- In a small sauce pan add all the ingredients, bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 2-3 minutes until the sauce slightly thickens. Set aside to cool.
Slaw
- In a small bowl add the mayo, lemon, oil and sriracha and mix together. In a large bowl add all the sliced vegetables. Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss to combined. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top if you have and like.
Chicken
- In a large bowl mix the corn starch and flour. Slice the chicken into thin strips and add to the flour mixture, make sure each piece is coated.
- In a large non-stick frying pan add the oil, once heated up a bit add the chicken in batches, do not over crowd the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove cooked chicken to a paper-towel lined plate until all pieces are cooked through.
- In the same frying pan, wipe it clean and add the sauce and chicken to re-heat and coat all the chicken.
- Once the buns are steamed, add a spoonful of the slaw and top with a some crispy chicken and enjoy!