Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Juicy Steamed Buns

It has finally happened! I can cook recipes from Dragon Ball, one of my favorite series of all time while still being on topic for this site. I’ve played around with the idea of starting an anime related food blog focusing on a few series that I hold near and dear to my heart but realistically I don’t have that kind of time. With the release of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot I don’t need to do that anymore. One of the mechanics in the game is eating to boost your stats, which is such an important element in the series. Half of Dragon Ball Super’s early arc is introducing the characters Whis and Beerus to the delicacies of Earth in order to keep them from destroying the planet. Food is extremely important to the world of Dragon Ball and I am so happy that I can finally dive into some delicious recipes.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot comes out this week and I will be playing this game a bunch. There will be so many recipes made from it! A lot of the food information I currently have is based on the many trailers Bandai Namco has released. Looking at the different lists of options, I felt the Juicy Steamed Buns would be the perfect place to start. The recipe in-game calls for beast meat and onion. The important piece was to decide what would take the place of beast meat. I wanted the recipe to have a slight gamey taste to it so I’ve combined ground beef and lamb to achieve just that. If you are unable to find ground lamb, feel free to just do this with ground beef. These bao are extremely juicy and delicious. The Saiyans will totally eat this up before a day of training. You might need to triple this recipe in order to fill up just one of those hungry fighters!

Dough
1 ½ tsp yeast
¾ cup warm water
¼ cup canola oil
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp salt

Filling
¾ lb ground beef
½ lb ground lamb
½ onion, finely chopped
4 scallions, finely chopped
3 dried shiitakes, rehydrated and finely chopped
2 inch piece of garlic, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp shaoxing wine, chinese cooking wine (can substitute with dry sherry)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp chinese five spice
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch

Mix the yeast, water, and canola oil. Allow this to rest for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes active. Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly mix in the liquid with the flour. Mix until it all comes together.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Let it rest until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.

Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl until just mixed. Do not overwork the filling! Split the dough into 10 equal round pieces. Place in the freezer until you are ready to form the bao.

When you are ready to make the bao, place water in a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Punch the dough and roll out into a long tube. 

Split into 10 equal pieces and form into balls. Take a portion and roll out to about 6 inches wide. Avoid making it too thin. Add one of the meat balls on top.

Pleat the buns until sealed. Place on top of a small piece of parchment paper and then place in a steam basket.

Make sure the bao aren’t touching. Once the water is boiling, place the steamers on top of the pot and steam for 18 minutes.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Juicy Steamed Buns

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: 10 bao

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 ½ tsp yeast
• ¾ cup warm water
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cornstarch
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tsp salt

Filling

• ¾ lb ground beef
• ½ lb ground lamb
• ½ onion finely chopped
• 4 scallions finely chopped
• 3 dried shiitakes rehydrated and finely chopped
• 2 inch piece of garlic grated
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp shaoxing wine chinese cooking wine (can substitute with dry sherry)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp chinese five spice
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

• Mix the yeast, water, and canola oil. Allow this to rest for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes active.
• Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly mix in the liquid with the flour. Mix until it all comes together.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Let it rest until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.
• Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl until just mixed. Do not overwork the filling! Split the dough into 10 equal round pieces. Place in the freezer until you are ready to form the bao.
• When you are ready to make the bao, place water in a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Punch the dough and roll out into a long tube.
• Split into 10 equal pieces and form into balls. Take a portion and roll out to about 6 inches wide. Avoid making it too thin. Add one of the meat balls on top.
• Pleat the buns until sealed. Place on top of a small piece of parchment paper and then place in a steam basket. Make sure the bao aren’t touching. Once the water is boiling, place the steamers on top of the pot and steam for 18 minutes.