This recipe for Steamed Chinese Sausage Buns (Lap Cheong Bao 臘腸包) yields a soft, light sweetened fluffy bun filled with savory Chinese sausage (lap cheong 臘腸).
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What are steamed Chinese sausage buns?
Chinese sausage buns, also known as lap cheong bao (臘腸包) in Cantonese consist of cured Chinese pork sausage encased in a steamed, slightly sweet, fluffy dough.
They're slightly different than bakery Chinese sausage buns, which are baked rather than steamed and use Western-style sausages/hotdogs.
What is lap cheong?
Lap cheong (臘腸), (also lop cheung 臘腸) is a slightly sweet, savory air-dried Chinese pork sausage made from a combination of pork meat and pork fat.
This Chinese sausage is usually seasoned with a blend of rose wine, sugar, and soy sauce for a unique and savory taste.
Lap cheong sausage is used in many dishes including fried rice, Chinese sticky rice (lo mai gai 糯米雞) and claypot rice (bo zai fan 煲仔飯).
What does Chinese pork sausage taste like?
Chinese sausage is known for its sweet and savory taste, with a subtle aroma of rose wine.
It has a firm texture and is slightly dense, with a chewy consistency.
Since it is dry-cured but not cooked, lap cheong (臘腸) should be cooked before eating, similar to chorizo sausage.
Why you'll love this recipe
This small-batch recipe is easy to make: mix all the dough ingredients together, shape, and steam!
The dough doesn't require long fermentation time.
Mini Chinese sausage buns are convenient as a snack, or light meal.
Ensuring the buns cool in the steamer results in smooth buns that don't collapse.
Easily customizable: swap out the lap cheong (臘腸) and use the dough to make mantou (馒头 ), red bean buns (豆沙包), BBQ. pork buns (叉燒包), or another filling.
Special equipment you'll need
- bamboo steamer with lid: or metal steamer; I highly suggest using a bamboo steamer to allow for less condensation to drip onto the buns
- parchment paper: cut into small squares about 4" by 4"
Ingredients you'll need
- bao flour (包粉): is a low-protein (about 7-8%) white wheat flour; it's usually beached and produces white and fluffy buns; you can find bao flour in specialty Asian grocery stores or large Asian supermarkets; if you don't have bao flour, you can use all-purpose flour -- just note it won't be as white or fluffy
- baking powder: a leavener in addition to the yeast and ensures fluffiness
- water
- granulated sugar: feeds the yeast and acts to counteract the saltiness in the sausages
- active dry yeast: leavens the dough and makes the buns light and fluffy
- vegetable oil: adds a little moisture to the buns
- Chinese sausages (lap cheong 臘腸): cut in half for mini buns; leave whole for regular sized buns; of course, you can use other sausages such as hotdogs as well
How to make lap cheong bao (臘腸包)
Cut the Chinese sausage (lap cheong 臘腸) in half, if making mini buns (Step 1 below).
Make the dough
In a mixing bowl, whisk together bao flour (包粉) and baking powder.
In a small bowl, combine warm water, sugar and active dry yeast. Give it a stir and let it become bubbly.
Add the activated yeast mixture into the flour mixture, add in oil and knead until the dough becomes smooth and shiny (Step 2 below).
Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes (Step 3 below).
Divide the dough into 6 equal portions, about 35-36g each (Step 4 below).
Roll each portion of dough into a thin log, about 7-8" in length (Step 1 below).
Take one sausage (lap cheong 臘腸) and working from one end, coil the dough around it, tucking in the ends (Step 2 below).
Place the sausage bun onto a small piece of parchment paper.
Transfer bun onto a bamboo steamer (or metal steaming rack) (Step 3 below).
Repeat with the remainder.
Tip: Ensure the buns are evenly spaced out for dough expansion (Step 4 below).
Cover the buns with a lid and leave in a warm location until slightly puffy, about 20 minutes.
Steam the buns
Fill a large pot of wok with warm water.
Place the steamer with the buns over the water.
Turn on the steamer to high heat.
Once steam begins to escape from the top of the lid, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat, but leave the steamer on the heat for 5 minutes.
Slightly open the lid about 1 inch to let the steam escape (Step 5 below).
Tip: Do not remove the lid until all the steam has evaporated.
Once the steam has evaporated, remove the steamer from the heat and open the lid (Step 6 below).
How to serve
Peel off the parchment paper and serve Steamed Chinese Sausage Buns freshly steamed, while warm.
As the buns cool, they will stiffen a bit.
It's best to re-steam or microwave the buns before enjoying.
How to store
Store any leftover lap cheong bao (臘腸包) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freeze individually wrapped Chinese sausage buns in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
How to reheat steamed buns
Reheat the Chinese sausage buns by placing the buns on a steaming rack filled with hot water.
Steam in the same manner as before, making sure not to open the lid too quickly, nor allowing condensation to drip onto the buns.
Expert tips & FAQs
Why do my steamed buns have dimples and aren't smooth?
This is a result of condensation dripping onto the buns.
To prevent this, tie a kitchen towel to the lid to help absorb extra moisture.
Why did my buns collapse?
Collapsed buns means that the temperature change was too great.
The buns need to sit in the steamer first after the heat is turned off, and then the lid gradually opened to allow for gentle cooling of the buns.
Can I make a larger batch?
Yes, you can double the recipe to make 12 mini sausage buns, or 6 regular sized buns.
Can I make my own bao flour (包粉)?
Bao flour (包粉) contains a pre-mix of additives, leaveners and is bleached so it can be difficult to replicate.
However, you can use all-purpose flour and swap in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or cake flour to reduce the protein content in the dough.
Prior to shaping, the dough didn't rise much.
Yes, there is minimal amount of yeast in this dough, and it will not double in size.
Can I make them with frozen lap cheong (臘腸)?
Yes, you can use frozen Chinese sausages -- just take them out to thaw at room temperature while working on the dough.
Other steamed bun recipes you may like
Be sure to check out these recipes:
Steamed Red Bean Paste Buns (蒸豆沙包)
Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao 叉燒包)
All-Natural Steamed Custard Buns (Lai Wong Bao 奶皇包)
Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!
Steamed Chinese Sausage Buns (Lap Cheong Bao 臘腸包)
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For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
- 3 Chinese sausages (lap cheong 臘腸) cut in half
Dough:
- 120 g bao flour (包粉)
- 3 g baking powder
- 70 ml warm water
- 15 g granulated sugar
- 3 g active dry yeast
- 5 ml vegetable oil
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together bao flour (包粉) and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, combine warm water, sugar and active dry yeast. Give it a stir and let it become bubbly.
- Add the activated yeast mixture into the flour mixture, add in the oil and knead until the dough becomes smooth and shiny.
- Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions, about 35-36g each.
- Roll each portion of dough into a thin log, about 7-8" in length.
- Take one sausage (lap cheong 臘腸) and working from one end, coil the dough around it, tucking in the ends.
- Place the sausage bun onto a small piece of parchment paper.
- Transfer bun onto a bamboo steamer (or metal steaming rack).
- Repeat with the remainder.
- Tip: Ensure the buns are evenly spaced out for dough expansion.
- Cover the buns with a lid and leave in a warm location until slightly puffy, about 20 minutes.
Steam the buns:
- Fill a large pot of wok with warm water.
- Place the steamer with the buns over the water.
- Turn on the steamer to high heat.
- Once steam begins to escape from the top of the lid, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, but leave the steamer on the heat for 5 minutes.
- Slightly open the lid about 1 inch to let the steam escape.
- Tip: Do not remove the lid until all the steam has evaporated.
- Once the steam has evaporated, remove the steamer from the heat and open the lid.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
David @ Spiced
Wow - what a fun recipe! I'm not super familiar with Chinese sausage, but I love trying new recipes and new techniques. The way the dough is wrapped around the sausages looks really cool. Thanks for the inspiration!
Michelle
You're welcome, David! Hope you'll give Chinese sausage a try -- it's a staple in Chinese cuisine 🙂
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
YUM... I could literally snack on these all day long, and I love how few ingredients are required. So easy!
Raymund | angsarap.net
These steamed Chinese sausage buns sound delicious! It's great to know that the dough doesn't require a long fermentation time and that the recipe is easily customizable with different fillings.
Linsey
These mini steamed lap cheong baos are very cute and fun to eat. Easy to manage with this smaller batch and not too much time needed, I can have these baos more often. Thanks!
Cindy
I love how this is a small batch recipe and they turned out great! One question - the ingredient list includes oil but I couldn’t see where it was used in the directions?
Michelle
Thanks Cindy, the vegetable oil is added into the dough in Step 3 and kneaded until smooth.
Casey
bao flour and leaveneres...
When testing your recipe, did you use a bao flour with leaveners / additives or just plain bleached white flour.
I'd like to try your recipe. Bao flours available to me already include leaving, so do I add them per your recipe or omit them altogether.
Michelle
Hi Casey, I used a bao flour that doesn't explicitly list any leaveners, and is similar to low-protein bleached white flour.
If you're using a bao flour that already has added additives (eg. baking powder), you can omit the baking powder. Note: if you're using a bao flour that contains baking soda, it will turn your buns yellow/brown. For this reason, I don't suggest using bao flours that contain additives. Hope that helps.