Vegetable Buns With Tofu (Sheng Jian Bao)

Make the dough

1. Make the yeast mixture. Mix together plant based milk, yeast and sugar. Whisk together, and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate. Meanwhile, add baking powder and salt to plain flour in a large bowl.
2. When the yeast mixture is ready, add water and rice vinegar. Mix together, then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix together using a spatula until the dough starts to clump together, then add olive oil and continue mixing and kneading using your hands for a further 5-10 minutes.
3. Cover the dough with a towel and set aside for an hour, or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Make the filling

1. Crumble up the extra firm tofu using your hands. Then, add soy sauce and coconut sugar, and mix together thoroughly.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a large, non-stick skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic, scallions and carrots. Season generously with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.
3. Add the tofu and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the tofu starts to become crispy and browned. At this stage, lower the heat to a low-medium and add the water and cornstarch. Continue stirring until the filling thickens and starts to stick together.

Shape the buns

1. Add a dusting of flour to a large, flat surface. Transfer the dough to the surface and divide it into 4 equal sections to make the rolling process easier.
2. Roll each section of the dough into a large, thin circle around ¼ cm in thickness. Then, use either a glass or a cookie cutter to divide the dough into equally-sized circles. You can set aside the leftover dough and roll it out once more afterwards until you've ran out.
3. Work on one bun at a time and cover the rest of the dough with a kitchen towel so that it doesn't dry out. Add a light layer of flour to the circle, roll it out wider, then flip, dust once more and continue rolling out until it’s around 12cm in diameter.
4. Place around 2-2 ½ tbsp of the filling in the centre of the circle, and press it into a neat dome using your fingers. Make sure to wash your hands after doing so in order to make the wrapping process easier.
5. Seal together the edges. This may be a little bit tricky at first, but practice a few times to get the hang of it. Refer to the images in the blog post, as well as the recipe video to see how to make it easier. You can work either on a flat surface, or by holding the dough in the palm of your hand. Set the finished vegetable buns aside, covered, on a lightly dusted surface while you work on the rest.

Cook the buns

1. Place the vegetable buns into a large frying pan or skillet and add either olive oil or vegetable oil until around ⅛ of each bun is submerged in the oil. Bring the heat to a medium-high and allow them to cook for around 7-8 minutes. 
2. Flip the buns. They should be crispy and golden brown when you do so. Now add water to the frying pan until around ¼ of each bun is submerged. Place the lid on the skillet/frying pan and allow to steam for a further 6-7 minutes, until all of the dough is cooked all the way through. Transfer carefully to a plate of your choice, and serve!