Easy Shui Jian Bao Recipe – Crispy Bottom, Soft & Fluffy Buns

Easy Shui Jian Bao Recipe – Crispy Bottom, Soft & Fluffy Buns

These Shui Jian Bao are a regular on our family breakfast table. Soft, fluffy buns with a perfectly crispy golden skirt on the bottom—just like street food, but made at home. Don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list; it’s mostly simple Chinese pantry staples and very forgiving.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 30

Servings

Calories 426kcal

Ingredients

For the Dough

180 g warm water 30-35°C / 85-95°F
3 g granulated sugar
3 g high-activity or instant yeast
300 g all-purpose flour

For the Filling

50 g sweet potato glass noodles cellophane noodles
100 g firm tofu dried/pressed tofu, cut into 1cm cubes
150 g Chinese chives finely chopped
10 ml light soy sauce
3 ml dark soy sauce
3 g salt
1 g thirteen-spice or five-spice powder
2 g chicken bouillon powder optional, or substitute with vegetarian powder
8 ml oyster sauce or vegetarian stir-fry sauce
10 ml neutral cooking oil like vegetable or canola

For the Crystal Skirt & Cooking

15 g cornstarch or potato starch
15 g all-purpose flour
150 ml water
30 ml neutral cooking oil divided

Instructions

Prepare the Dough

In a bowl, mix warm water, sugar, and yeast until dissolved (~1 minute).
Pour into a bowl with flour, stir with chopsticks until a crumbly dough forms.
Knead by hand for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and glossy (“bowl smooth, hands smooth, dough smooth”).
Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and proof over warm water (~30°C) for 30 minutes.

Prepare the Filling

Soak sweet potato starch in boiling water for 5 minutes until softened. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add dark soy sauce 3 ml and cooking oil 10 ml; mix well.
Add diced tofu cubes.
Then add light soy sauce 10 ml, salt 3 g, Shisan Xiang 1 g, chicken bouillon 2 g, and oyster sauce 8 ml. Mix thoroughly (~2 minutes).
Add chopped chives and quickly mix (~30 seconds). The filling is ready. (Avoid letting chives sit too long in the mixture.)

Shape & Fill the Buns

Take the proofed dough, press gently to release air bubbles.
Roll into a log and divide into 12 equal portions (~35 g each).
Flatten one portion, thin the edges (~0.3 cm), place ~20 g filling in the center. Pinch edges together and shape into half-moon or round buns. Repeat for all buns.

Frying & Creating the “Ice Flower”

Heat a skillet with 15 ml cooking oil over medium heat. Place buns with 1 cm spacing. Fry on low for 3 minutes until bottoms are lightly golden.
Mix starch 15 g, flour 15 g, and water 150 ml until fully dissolved.
Slowly pour slurry around buns until it covers 1/3 of the bottom. Cover and cook on medium heat for 8 minutes until water mostly absorbs.
When water is nearly gone, drizzle remaining 15 ml oil along pan edges. Continue on low for 2 minutes until fully absorbed and golden, crispy “ice flower” forms.

Serve

Turn off heat.
Place a large plate upside-down over the skillet. In one confident motion, flip the skillet and plate over together. Lift the skillet away to reveal your buns perfectly transferred, crispy skirt gloriously on top.

Nutrition