Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (2024)

by Daphne Goh

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In China, they make Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) as plain steamed buns with no fillings. Traditionally, they consume mantou in Northern China as a staple food. In contrast to rice as a staple food in Southern China. They normally eat these buns plain or commonly serve it as a side dish. Whereas they stuff bao or baozi with sweet or savoury fillings and make them rounded in shape.

Popularity of Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)

Besides, Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) and baozi are so universally popular worldwide that you can find them everywhere. From dim sums in a Chinese yum cha restaurants, to frozen ready-made packaged food in Asian supermarket. As well as all kinds of food stores and even as a street/hawker food. They usually eat these Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) during breakfast, as a snack or meal on its own. Alternatively, they also eat them as an accompaniment for a dish. Like braised meat, meat stews or meat casseroles. As well as saucy dishes like Kung Pao Chicken or Singapore Chilli Prawns or Crabs.

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (1)

Gluten Free Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)

For my gluten free Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) recipe, I made them with gluten free self-raising flour. Plus dry instant yeast, rice milk, agave syrup, salt and vanilla extract. This Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) is recipe is not only gluten Free. But also vegan, low carb, dairy free, nut free, egg free, soy free, refined sugar free and allergy friendly.

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (2)

History of Mantou

The origin of mantou dated all the way back to many thousands of years ago. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (771B.C.), whereby the people were consuming steamed fermented flour dough called “Yi” food. During the Han Dynasty, use of stone mills became popular for milling wheat flour for mantou and wheat noodles. Which became a popular food staple for the people of Northern China.

According to a famous Chinese folktale, a renowned Chinese military strategist invented mantou stuffed with meat fillings. His name was Zhuge Liang during the era of the Three Kingdoms (220–280 CE). At this time, they use stuffed these buns to replace human barbarian’s heads as a sacrifice to the river god. In order for the army to cross the raging Lu River. By the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127 AD), bao or baozi became the terms used for buns with filling. Although mantou still remains as the name used for steamed buns with no fillings.

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (3)
Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (4)

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (5)

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)

Plain steamed buns with no fillings and traditionally consumed in Northern China as a staple food. They are normally eaten plain and also commonly served as a side dish.

5 from 14 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Chinese

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Salt, Vegan

Keyword: Adzuki Bean, Allergy Friendly, Chinese Steamed Buns, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Bao Buns, Gluten Free Buns, Gluten Free Chinese Bao, Gluten Free Steamed Chinese Bao Buns, Low Carb, Mantou, Nut Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, Vegan

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 11 buns

Calories: 129.73kcal

Author: Daphne Goh

Ingredients

  • Some gluten free flour for dusting work surface

For the dough:

    Dry Ingredients:

    Wet Ingredients:

    Instructions

    • In a large bowl, combine and whisk all the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture.

    • Warm the rice milk in a small pot for around 1 minutes until lukewarm, between 40.5 and 43.3C (105 to 110 F) then turn off the heat. Add in the extra virgin olive oil, agave sugar and vanilla extract and mix well.

    • Pour the warm rice milk mixture in step 2 into the well in the large bowl, stir and combine well with the flour using a spatula.

    • Then use your hands to knead the dough until you have a smooth and slightly sticky dough. Add 2 tablespoons rice milk if required.

    • Divide the dough into 2 portions. Seal in ziplock bags and let the dough rest on the benchtop for 1 hour.

    • Dust the work surface with some gluten free flour. Remove one portion of dough from the ziplock bag. Roll the dough into long log of 1½ inch thickness. You can also cut into any desired size.

    • Cut each log with a knife into 1½ inch pieces around 50g (1.8oz) each.

    • Line 2 large bamboo steamers with baking paper/parchment paper. Place each bun dough 1 inch apart onto the lined bamboo steamers.

    • Heat up a wok with a steaming rack with some water and place the covered bamboo steamers on top of the steaming rack. Bring to a rolling boil and continue steaming the buns for 20 minutes on high heat. Ensure that there is sufficient water in the wok for the whole steaming process.

    • Best served hot immediately after steaming.

    • Reheat by steaming the buns on high heat until soft.

    Notes

    Allergen: Yeast.

    Nutrition Facts

    Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)

    Serving Size

    1 bun

    Amount per Serving

    Calories

    129.73

    % Daily Value*

    Fat

    2.62

    g

    4

    %

    Polyunsaturated Fat

    0.3

    g

    Monounsaturated Fat

    1.24

    g

    Sodium

    33.89

    mg

    1

    %

    Potassium

    32.35

    mg

    1

    %

    Carbohydrates

    24.7

    g

    8

    %

    Fiber

    3.76

    g

    16

    %

    Sugar

    2.95

    g

    3

    %

    Protein

    4.26

    g

    9

    %

    Vitamin C

    0.34

    mg

    %

    Calcium

    21.18

    mg

    2

    %

    Iron

    1.1

    mg

    6

    %

    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Did you make this recipe?Tag me on Instagram @healthygfasian or tag #healthygfasian!

    Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (12)
    Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (13)
    Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou) | Gluten Free Asian Recipes | Healthy gf Asian (2024)

    FAQs

    Are steamed bao buns healthy? ›

    A standard steamed bao typically contains about 200-250 calories, positioning it as a moderate-calorie food option. Additionally, bao serves as a source of protein and dietary fiber, particularly when made with whole grain flours or filled with vegetables or lean meats.

    What is the difference between mantou and bao? ›

    Steamed buns (baozi) are small (fist-sized or smaller), of a bread-like (yeast), that are stuffed, usually meat/veggie mixture. Mantou is steamed bread. Normally, not stuffed.

    What are Asian steamed buns called? ›

    Bao Buns (pronounced “bow”), but also known as a 'steamed buns' or 'baozi' 包子, are a delicious, warm, fluffy treat of stuffing wrapped inside a sweet, white dough.

    What does mantou mean in Chinese? ›

    Mantou (traditional Chinese: 饅頭; simplified Chinese: 馒头), often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name mantou to a tale about Zhuge Liang. Mantou. Classic white mantou. Alternative names.

    Are steamed buns healthier than baked buns? ›

    Asian-style steamed bread has a lower glycemic index (GI) than western-style baked bread, A*STAR researchers have found1. This preparation method could be more widely adopted as a useful weapon in the battle against diseases such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes, they suggest.

    What is the difference between bao and bao buns? ›

    Bao means "bun", so the name bao bun is redundant, and bao in the Chinese language without any qualifiers is generally used to refer to baozi.

    What to eat with Chinese Mantou? ›

    Or serve it like a burger, cut open then slide in a fried egg. Simple but yum! When eating as a sweet snack, it's very popular to dip mantou into condensed milk. Honey or jam is a great accompaniment too.

    Are bao buns Chinese or Korean? ›

    What are bao buns? Bao or Baozi are said to have been invented in China during the 3rd century by a military strategist called Zhuge Liang [181-234]. They were first named Mantou but over time they began to be referred to as baozi or bao meaning to wrap in Mandarin.

    What kind of bread do Chinese people eat? ›

    • Flaky sesame breads (shao bing)
    • Steamed buns (mantou)
    • Stuffed steamed buns (bao-zi)
    • Fried breadsticks (you tiao)
    • Uyghur flatbreads (nang)
    • Uyghur bagels (girde nan)
    • Yunnan 'pizza' (baba)
    • Xian burger (rou jia mou)
    Sep 3, 2018

    How many calories in a steamed bao bun? ›

    Steamed bao buns
    NutrientUnit
    kcal119
    fat1g
    saturates0g
    carbs23g
    4 more rows

    How many calories are in 1 bao bun? ›

    Bao Bun Nutritional Facts and Calories
    Amount Per Serving% DV
    Calories120kcal6%
    Fats1g1%
    Sat. fats0g0%
    Mono. Fats0g0%
    7 more rows

    Are bao buns high in calories? ›

    Energy: 253 calories

    Proportion of total calories contributed by protein, carbs and fat.

    Do bao buns have a lot of calories? ›

    2 serving of bao buns contains 221 Calories, 38 grams of carbs, 5 grams of protein, and 5 grams of fat. This has a relatively high calorie density, with 264 Calories per 100g.

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