Shitake Mushroom Steamed Buns with Marinated Veggies & Hoisin (or Plum) Sauce (GF)

Miss eating out at your favorite restaurants? Love Bánh Mi sandwiches as much as I do? Here's an easy substitute to tide you over for a while.

The steamed buns couldn’t be easier: pre-made pizza dough. These are sprinkled with sesame seeds, steamed, then filled with marinated veggies. The result is an international palette that combines Chinese (bun), Japanese (shiitakes) and Vietnamese (marinade) flavors and disappeared as quickly as I could put them together!

My Paleo Marin Rating: 5 Persimmons*

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut aminos
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tsp. light brown sugar
1 large garlic clove, minced

8 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and cap sliced horizontally, or chopped into slivers, or combination of both
2 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 lb. fresh prepared pizza dough
(Note: due to current limited shopping options, I used Terranova New York Pizza Dough from Whole Foods (not gluten free). For gluten free pizza dough, two options are: Williams Sonoma and Essential Baking, or search online for a recipe to make it at home).

Olive oil for greasing hands

Black and White Sesame Seeds for sprinkling

Hoisen Sauce or Plum Sauce to coat insides of bun (personal preference)
2 scallions, thinly sliced and dipped in water to clean thoroughly
1 cucumber, julienned


Directions:

A 4-tier aluminum momo steamer or bamboo steamer works best to prepare this dish. A pot with fitted metal steamer basket could also work but would take several batches to make.

1. Whisk together the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, brown sugar and minced garlic in a medium-sized storage container with a lid. Add the chopped shiitake mushrooms and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Shake midway to coat the mushrooms. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the julienned carrots to marinade until ready to assemble the buns.

2. Cut the pizza dough into 12 pieces (about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 oz. each). Using oiled hands, gently shape into balls (do not press out the air). Arrange the balls on one layer of the steamer tray and sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds.

3. Spread the shiitakes on another steamer tray.

4. If using the aluminum steamer or pot, add 2-3 inches of water in the bottom pot. Bring to a boil. For the bamboo steamer, see link for preparation. Add the tray of mushrooms and then the tray of buns on top that. Cover and turn down heat to medium. Steam for 15 - 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked through and the buns are puffed and have a glistened sheen on top.

5. Remove the trays and set aside to cool a bit. Remove the buns and carefully cut through the middle, leaving the back in tact. Brush the insides of the bun with a thin layer of either hoisin or plum sauce. Add mushrooms, carrots (after draining the marinade), sliced cucumber and scallions. Place extra dipping sauce out.

Mushrooms can be prepared one day in advance. Best served out of the steamer, but good anytime.

#paleo #glutenfree #dairyfree #steamedbuns #Chinese #Japanese #Vietnamese #shitake #mushrooms #snacks #vegetarian #vegan #stayinplace

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine recipe here.

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.