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Korean Chicken Bao

Korean Chicken Bao

Delicious Korean Chicken Bao filled with crispy chicken and flavorful ingredients, perfect for a tasty meal.
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 25 minutes
Marinating Time 1 hour
Total Time 3 hours 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Korean
Servings 20 buns
Calories 289 kcal

Equipment

  • mixing bowl
  • Steamer
  • Deep Fryer
  • Rolling Pin
  • baking tray

Ingredients
  

Bao Buns

  • 450 g plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 2 tablespoon caster sugar
  • 0.5 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon instant dried yeast equivalent to one packet or 7g
  • 3 tablespoon whole milk
  • 210 ml warm water equivalent to ¾ cup + 2tbsp
  • 3 tablespoon unsalted butter very soft
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Chicken and marinade

  • 4 pieces chicken breasts sliced into bite-size chunks
  • 240 ml buttermilk equivalent to 1 cup
  • 0.5 teaspoon salt
  • 0.25 teaspoon white pepper
  • 0.25 teaspoon garlic salt

Crispy Coating

  • 180 g plain (all-purpose) flour equivalent to 1 ½ cups
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 0.5 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 0.5 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1 litre vegetable oil for deep frying, at least 1 litre/four cups

Korean Sauce

  • 2 tablespoon gochujang paste
  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • 4 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • 2 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

To Serve

  • 1 small red onion thinly sliced
  • 0.25 cucumber chopped into small pieces
  • 1 small bunch fresh coriander cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoon black and white sesame seeds

Instructions
 

Making Bao Buns

  • Start by making the bao buns, Place the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl and mix together.
  • Add the milk, warm water, and butter to a jug and stir together until the butter melts.
  • Stir the liquid mixture into the flour mixture at first with a spoon, and then with your hands. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.
  • Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover and leave to prove until doubled in size - about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Preparing Chicken

  • Meanwhile, start on the Korean Chicken. Place the chicken in a bowl. Add the buttermilk, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Mix together, cover and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 1 hour.

Cooking Process

  • After the dough has proved, tip it out of the bowl onto a floured surface. Knead the dough again and split it into 20 balls.
  • Place a piece of baking parchment on your work surface and roll each ball into an oval on top of the parchment, using a rolling pin – approx. 6cm x 9cm.
  • Brush the ovals with the olive oil and fold each oval over, using a chopstick in the middle to fold over to leave a little space in the fold.
  • Place the buns on the trays - still on the baking parchment and cover each tray with clingfilm or a carrier bag and leave to prove for a further hour, until puffed up.
  • Preheat the oven to a low heat (to keep the cooked chicken warm). Heat a large pan of vegetable oil until hot.
  • Mix together the crispy coating ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Take the chicken out of the fridge. Lift a piece from the buttermilk, dredge the chicken in the crispy coating mixture and place on a tray.
  • Once the oil is hot enough, add in 10-12 of the chicken pieces. Cook for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and cooked in the middle.
  • Place on a tray in the oven to keep warm whilst you cook the rest of the chicken.
  • Meanwhile, put a large steamer pan on to boil. Steam buns for 10 minutes.
  • While the chicken and bao buns are cooking, make the sauce by placing the gochujang, honey, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vegetable oil and sesame oil in a saucepan.
  • Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.
  • Place all of the cooked chicken in a bowl and pour the sauce over the chicken. Toss together to coat.
  • Carefully open the steamed bao buns and stuff with the Korean chicken. Top with slices of red onion, cucumber, fresh coriander, and sesame seeds before serving.

Notes

You can make and cook the crispy chicken, make up the sauce and cook the bao buns ahead of time. Reheat everything right before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 20bunsCalories: 289kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 14gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 650mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7g
Keyword Asian Cuisine, bao buns, Easy Recipes, fried chicken, Korean Chicken Bao, Korean sauce
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