At a glance
You're looking at a show-stopping breakfast that takes some time but rewards you with pillowy steamed bao buns filled with a fried egg, tangy orange-mint mayo, pickled vegetables, and crispy oyster mushrooms. The main time commitment comes from letting the dough rest for an hour and the slaw marinating, so you can get these going ahead of time. The actual cooking—steaming the buns, boiling the eggs, and frying the mushrooms—happens quickly at the end, so you can have these beautiful buns ready when you need them.
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Starter and dough
First, make the starter. Crumble the yeast into warm water with sugar and let it activate. Sift the flour with baking powder into a large bowl, then add sugar, salt and milk. I use coconut milk – it makes the buns lovely and rich, with a hint of coconut flavour.
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Resting for an hour
Let the finished dough rest for an hour, then roll it out and cut into rounds about 7 cm in diameter.
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Shaping the buns
Cut small squares of baking paper and brush them with oil. Lightly oil the dough rounds too, then fold each one in half to form little pockets. Place them on the paper squares and set them on a steamer rack over simmering water. Steam for about 20 minutes, until the buns are fully cooked through.
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