Baozi (BOW-zuh): A small steamed bun, filled with meat and/or vegetables.  Ubiquitous on the streets in most Chinese cities, especially at dawn.

I’d loved these treats for some time in the States, though my time with them had been limited to occasional Dim Sum excursions.  Coming to China, I’d hoped to get more quality time with them, though I didn’t expect them to be quite as prevalent as they were.  Every city I’ve visited here (even Lhasa in Tibet) has hordes of street vendors armed with steamers (either modern ones or those of the traditional “bamboo and boiling water” variety).

The simple, pliant, white dough used to make the baozi steams well, allowing vast quantities of the snacks to sit around in hot steam for hours on end until the daily supply is depleted.  The most popular variant of baozi is “zhu rou” (“jew row” — ironically enough this means “pork”) and is often just a chunk of seasoned, ground meat inside the soft, hot bun, though sometimes small bits of vegetables (usually green onions) are mixed in as well.

An assortment of vegetable-filled baozi

Reaching into a massive pile of bamboo steamers for some pork baozi

Big Bucket o' Baozi

A monument to the Baozi and my appreciation of it

Baozi Night

It’s with this love of Baozi in mind (that still hasn’t much abated after a year of the little buggers) that I had some friends over for some homemade Baozi.  We all agreed that the steamed bread idea was fantastic, but that the Chinese were simply too limited in their ingredients.  Why not an  Italian Baozi, with marinara sauce, sausage, onions and mozzarella?  Why not a peanut butter baozi?  Why not a baozi inside another baozi?  Why not, indeed.

My lovely assistant Lisa helps prepare the dough before people arrive

The meat and vegetables table, where most of the Baozi magic happens

...and the sauces table

To make a baozi, flatten out the baozi dough (recipe coming up) into a circle and then pile ingredients into the center. Bring the dough together at the top and then twist it a little so that it closes nicely, or it'll burst in the steamer. Â This is a particularly enormous baozi, by the way

The "baozi inside a baozi" -- a fairly pointless exercise, but it seemed to amuse people. One small baozi filled with meat, and then a layer of barbecue sauce between the two layers of dough.

Eating the baozi inside a baozi

The inside of the baozi inside a baozi

How to Have Your Own Baozi Party

The key ingredient is the dough.  Once you’ve got that, any ingredients are possible.  If you’re trying to go traditional, recipes for the ground pork filling are everywhere online.  Otherwise, get as creative as you like.

What you’ll need: