In a fusion restaurant, in a food truck or simply at a casual dinner with friends. Surely, on more than one occasion, you’ve come across this little steamed bun filled with flavourful ingredients and an exotic touch and wondered… what is this? what is this? Well, without going any further, you’re looking at what many are already calling the sandwich of the century. In Asia, especially in Taiwan, the country of origin of this street food delicacy, you can find it on every street corner. However, it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that this “Taiwanese burger” for some, or simply “Gua Bao” for others, managed to carve a niche for itself among the best dishes, revolutionising the palates of the Spanish. This week, in the Oriental Market blog, we tell you more about the new snack of the moment.
Recipes with bao bread
Gua bao, bao bread or Baozi can be found in our shop in frozen format. This way, in just a few minutes you will have it ready to fill and you won’t have to spend so much time on it. For the filling, you can use anything from chicken, beef or pork (creating a fantastic pulled pork) to small prawns. From here, you can improve it by incorporating vegetables and seasonings.
Here are some easy recipes for cooking and preparing gua bao bread. Do you dare?
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Gua Bao Pulled Pork
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Gua Bao spicy chicken:
If you are one of those who prefer a spicy touch to the recipe, we propose a gua bao with vegetables (lettuce), fried chicken, a couple of slices of tomato and as a finishing touch, a little honey mustard. The steam bun is very soft, so if you add a touch of spicy flavour, the bite will be most interesting.
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“Fisherman” Gua Bao
To prepare this recipe you will need 1 gua bao, 1 fish fillet to taste, 2 slices of tomato, lettuce to taste, a little mayonnaise and honey mustard. To prepare it, remember to fry the fish first and then heat the baozi. Then just open the baozi and add the ingredients mentioned above.
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Sweet Gua Bao
And why not enjoy a delicious Gua Bao as a dessert as well? To make this recipe you will need to spread the base with peanut butter and peach or strawberry jam and as a filling, simply include a few slices of banana. You can dress with brown sugar, but it is not necessary, as the ingredients already incorporate sugar.
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What is gua bao bread?
But what else do we know about this appetising snack? Gua Bao bread could be defined as a small steamed bun. Soft, fluffy and very tender. A hot dish for children and adults alike, you can find it on the menus of restaurants and shops with very different names. From Bao, Baozi, bao bread to min pao, Chinese steamed buns… but its correct name is “Gua Bao”. The etymological origin of this word? “koah-pau”, which means “cut bread”. The word “bao” comes from “Miànbāo”, which means bread or bakery.
Origin and legend
As mentioned earlier in this article, Taiwan is the birthplace of this snack. It is a traditional New Year’s dish. If you travel to this country, you will find it mostly at night markets and in its beginnings, the classic Gua Bao included braised pork, sauerkraut, coriander, peanuts and vegetables.
Have you ever made it and do you have any ideas for a recipe? Feel free to show us the results of your recipes on our social media @Oriental_Market.
