Light, fluffy bao buns filled with golden crispy oyster mushrooms make the ultimate street-food style bite at home. This Crispy Oyster Mushroom Bao recipe combines crunchy hoisin-glazed mushrooms, tangy pickled vegetables, spicy homemade sriracha, and a nutty peanut sprinkle then finished with fresh coriander. It’s a flavour-packed, plant-based bao that balances crisp, soft, spicy, sweet, and sour in every bite.
Number of servings: 4
Cooking time: 1 hour
Preparation time: 2 hours
Ingredients
Bao:
Bao dough: get recipe here
Pickled Vegetables:
Turnip: 100g
Carrot: 100g
Water: 500ml
Rice vinegar: 150ml
Sugar: 75g
Salt: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: ¼ tsp
Black peppercorns: ¼ tsp
Chilli flakes: sprinkle (optional)
Crispy Oyster Mushrooms:
Oyster mushrooms: 250g
Plain flour: 2 tbsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Hoisin sauce: 1 tbsp
Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
Peanut Sprinkle:
Roasted peanuts: 30g
Sugar: 1 tsp
Salt: pinch
To Finish:
Fresh coriander: small handful
Homemade sriracha: get recipe here
Method
Pickled Vegetables
Peel turnip and carrot, then slice into fine julienne strips.
In a saucepan, bring water, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil, stirring until dissolved.
Place the vegetables into a sterilised airtight jar. Add mustard seeds, black peppercorns, and a sprinkle of chilli flakes.
Pour the hot pickling liquid over the vegetables, seal the jar, and let cool.
Store in the fridge. Consume within 1 month unopened, and within 2 weeks once opened (always check before eating).
Crispy Oyster Mushrooms
Tear oyster mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.
Toss with flour and salt until evenly coated.
Heat vegetable oil in a shallow casserole or deep pan to 170–180 °C.
Carefully add the mushrooms and fry until golden and crisp.
Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
Toss the hot mushrooms with hoisin sauce until lightly glazed.
Peanut Sprinkle
Place roasted peanuts, sugar, and salt into a mortar and pestle.
Crush coarsely, leaving some larger chunks for texture (not too powdery).
Assemble the Bao
Steam bao until fluffy.
Open each bao and fill with crispy oyster mushrooms.
Add a spoonful of pickled vegetables.
Drizzle with sriracha.
Sprinkle with peanut mix.
Finish with fresh coriander.
