Garlic Ginger Jackfruit Steamed Buns

Steamed buns filled with sweet garlic ginger jackfruit, quick kimchi style napa cabbage, and Srirach mayo.

My inspiration and guide in coming up with this vegan recipe was this recipe from Steamy Kitchen.

For the quick kimchi:

1 head napa cabbage

3 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped scallions

1 tablespoons hot chili sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Wash and quarter the napa cabbage. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle the salt over the cabbage. Let the cabbage sit for at least 1 hour, tossing occasionally. I do this first and then let the cabbage sit while I prepare everything else.

After about an hour, squeeze the now slightly wilted cabbage to remove the liquid and rinse. Roughy chop the cabbage.

In a small bowl, whisk together the ginger, garlic, scallions, chili sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and vinegar. Add in the cabbage and toss to coat. 

For the jackfruit:

2 15-oz can of jackfruit (in water, not syrup!)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced scallions

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoons mirin

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

2 tablespoons vegan store-bought BBQ sauce of your choice

2 teaspoons hot chili sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoons vegan mayonaise 

Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Usually it comes in triangular like shapes. Each triangular piece of jackfruit has 3 textures. The tip of the triangle is stringy. The wider end of the triangle is more solid and inside the wider part of the triangle, there are round seed pods. I shred the stringy parts with my fingers, and chop up the wider solid part, particularly making sure to chop up the round parts simply because they are kind of strange looking and I find it more appetizing to chop them up!!

In a medium sized skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in the ginger, garlic, and scallions. Cook about a minute, careful not to burn the garlic. Add in the jackfruit and cook for a few minutes. 

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, mirin, liquid smoke, BBQ sauce, chili sauce and sesame oil. Add into the jackfruit and let the liquid kind of caramelize. Stir and continue to cook until the jackfruit softens a bit and all the flavors soak in. Stir in the vegan mayonnaise to add richness.

Spread the jackfruit in an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and broil for about 10 to 15 minutes till nicely browned. You want some of the edges to get a little crispy, almost charred. But watch carefully to make sure it doesn't brown TOO much! 

For the buns:

1/4 cup vegan sugar

1 3/4 cup warm water

1 tablespoon yeast

6 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, melted

Combine the sugar, warm water, and yeast in a small bowl. Let sit 10 minutes till foamy. Stir in the melted vegetable shortening.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour and baking powder. Add in the yeast mixture and mix till combined. You want a soft but not sticky dough. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead till smooth, about 10 minutes. 

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let rise for a couple of hours. I turn my oven to low and set the bowl right on the stove top and this shortens the rise time to only an hour.  

Divide risen dough into 32 equal pieces and roll into balls. Let rest for 10 minutes. Flatten and gently roll each ball into an oval shape about 3 inches by 4 inches. Gently fold over to make the bun shape. Place each prepared bun on a small piece of parchment paper.  You will steam them on the parchment to ensure they don't stick.

To steam, use a bamboo steamed or a regular pot with a steamer rack placed inside. As long as its pretty flat, you are good. Fill pot with water for steaming. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Place a few of your prepared buns into your bamboo steamer or on your steaming rack. You will need to cook these in a few batches. Place lid on pot. Steam for 15 minutes. 

To fill, carefully open your steamed bun. Spread some JustMayo brand Sriracha mayo on one side, add in some jackfruit, kimchi cabbage, and top with some sliced chili.