Now… call me crazy for this, but I chose to recreate a recipe I, personally, have never tried. But when my daughter requested Bao for dinner, I knew I wanted to try to do a Disneyland recipe. Everyone RAVES about the Lime Chicken Bao from Tropical Hideaway, so that was what I picked.
So I did what any normal person would do, and looked up a recipe. Only… I couldn’t find one. Fine, I thought. I’ll do it myself.
So I spammed Erica with messages (sorry Erica) since she has gone more than all of us and asked her a BUNCH of questions, because much of what is online is… cryptic. The only info I found was: lime marinated chicken with fresh herbs and butternut squash, and one then person mentioned lemongrass. I then saw a cross section of it and saw onion in it as well. So, with that in mind, I got to work on coming up with a gameplan.
Let’s get started
I have made Bao before, so I had a good recipe for that. But I needed to come up with a marinade for my chicken. I busted out my trusty white board and brainstormed. Erasing things and adjusting numbers as I went and found what at least smelled like the perfect balance. I like cutting up my chicken some when I marinade it so that more of it is exposed to the yumminess. After a few hours, I dumped the whole thing (yes, marinade and all) into my cast iron to cook. When it finished I shredded the pieces of chicken into smaller bites that soaked up all that goodness that had cooked together and became delicious.Â
While that was marinating, I chopped up my butternut squash really small (and I mean REALLY small) and threw it on to boil until only JUST beginning to soften. I also fried up some onion and combined these two while I waited for my chicken. When it was all done, and the chicken was cooked, I combined them all and set it aside in the fridge to meld together. Before filling, adjust the seasoning to taste, as the squash will dull some of the flavour. I also added the juice of another half of a lime, and a bit more fresh cilantro at this step.
Prepping the Bao dough
This is my favourite thing to make, I’m not going to lie. The dough starts off really shaggy, but then comes together and is actually almost TOO sticky. If that happens, keep adding flour to your work surface while kneading it by hand (free arm workout!). After kneading for 10 minutes, cover with a damp towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for aboooout an hour and a half.
Bringing it together
Divide your dough baby into 12 equal pieces (cover the ones you aren’t working with with a damp towel). Using a roller, flatten out the dough into a circle that is thinner at the edges than it is in the middle. Put the dough circle in one hand and add in about 2 TBSP of filling into the middle.Â
This is where the stress comes in. In the past, my stuffed Bao have looked… not… great… so I went on a search for a tutorial on how to properly fold the dough to make a beautiful Bao. And let me tell you… I have never related more to David in my LIFE. “Hold the dough in one hand, and pleat.” Ok but HOW do I do the pleats? “Just pleat it!”
I FINALLY found one that gave me marginally more technique… I had been holding the dough in the palm of my hand, but it is better to actually hold it on your fingertips so that your thumb is able to reach over the filling to assist with the pleating. Now… mine are still ugly, don’t get me wrong. And DON’T take your tips from me… but at the end, I had what passes as a Bao.Â
Put each Bao on a small square of parchment paper and set aside until you have all of your Bao filled and shaped. Cover once again with the towel to rest while you prepare your steamer baskets.
Cooking the Bao
While your Bao babies rest, place a steamer basket over a pot with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. CAREFULLY place a few buns (with the parchment) into the basket, put the lid on, and set a timer for 15 minutes. Be careful when you remove them from the steamer, because there will still be steam actively rising. Use tongs to get them out and add in more. I also have an electric steamer which I was using, so I was able to do 6 at a time total with my setup.
Let the bao rest for about 5 minutes before digging in and enjoying!
Oh yeah… I made a sauce, but I don’t think it’s authentic to either the Disneyland version OR Char Siu Bao. Mix together some Thai sweet chili sauce, some honey garlic sauce, Chinese five spice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil… I measured with my heart.
Lime Chicken Bao
Equipment
- Steamer Either the steamer basket that comes with pots/pans sets, or electric.
Ingredients
Bao Filling; Marinade
- 3 Chicken Breasts Thawed if frozen and chopped into rough pieces
- 1 Lime Zest and Juice
- 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed/minced
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- Lemongrass I used a full package from the grocery store, about 5 small stalks
- 1 Tbsp Hot Honey
- 2 Tbsp Cilantro chopped
- Salt and Pepper
Bao Filling
- 1/2 Butternut Squash Diced small
- 1/2 Onion Diced
- 3 Tbsp Cilantro chopped
- 1/2 Lime Juiced (optional)
Bao Dough
- 450 g All Purpose Flour (3 and 3/4 cups)
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Instant Yeast Same as 1 packet
- 3 Tbsp Milk
- 210 ml Warm Water (3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp)
- 3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter Softened
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken
- Add all of the marinade ingredients into a ziplock bag and close tightly, removing as much air as you can and squishing around the chicken a little bit to make sure that it is all coated. Set in the fridge for at LEAST 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
Prep your Bao Dough
- In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
- In a measuring cup add milk, warm water, and butter. Microwave in 30 second increments until butter is fully melted (depending on how soft your butter was before adding it to the warm water, it may not need to be microwaved. Mine did.)
- Stir the liquids into the flour mixture with either a spoon or a dough whisk until a shaggy dough forms (it may seem crumbly at first, but DO NOT add more liquid yet.... trust). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. (You may also put it in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, but I like working it by hand). Add additional flour as needed if it gets too sticky.
- Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel and put somewhere warm to proof. Depending on how warm, it may take one and a half to two hours (or more).
Prep the filling
- Peel, core, and finely dice half of a butternut squash and add to a pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook until just barely beginning to soften. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, finely dice some onions and sweat them off. Add to the cooked squash and set aside.
- Dump entire bag of marinade and chicken into a hot pan and cook the chicken fully. Discard the Lemongrass and shred the chicken and allow it to soak up all of the goodness in the pan. Add to squash/onion mixture and put in the fridge to meld together.
Assembly
- Cut squares of parchment paper for later.
- Remove filling from the fridge and add in 3 Tbsp of chopped cilantro and adjust the seasonings to taste; I added more salt and pepper, as well as the juice of half of a lime.
- Divide bao dough into 12 equal sized pieces, covering them with a damp towel until ready to work with them. One at a time use your rolling pin to flatten the dough balls into circles that are thinner at the edges than at the center
- Holding the dough in one hand (I recommend not holding it in the palm of your hand, but rather on your fingers) put 2 Tbsp of filling in the center. Your thumb of the hand holding the dough should be free to assist with pleating
- Using the thumbs of both hands, as well as your pointer finger of your dominant hand, start gathering the edges of the dough into pleats, rotating slightly as you gather and pinch each one. (Please look up something from a professional as I am not and mine are not pretty). Finish with a twist and pinch and place on a square of parchment
- Continue until all your Bao are filled and cover once again with the towel to rest as you prepare your steamer baskets
Cooking the Bao
- If using an electric steamer, you can skip this step. If using a steam basket, fill your pot with a few inches of water and bring up to a boil.
- Gently place a few of the bao (still on the parchment) into the steam basket and cover with the lid.
- Set a timer for 15 minutes before removing them (carefully!) from the steamer, and repeat until all Bao are cooked. (Keep an eye on the water level as you don't want to boil the pot dry).
- Allow the Bao to rest for about 5 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
Let us know what you think!