Is Spring finally here?

Hello lovely readers, I hope you’re well. The good old English weather is teasing us with beautiful sunshine and the odd daffodil here or there. Whilst there is still a chill in the air, I can feel the optimism all around me in anticipation for Spring.

We all feel better and lighter in the sunshine, and with that comes lighter food. Even though it’s not quite salad season, it is nicer to search for those light and bright recipes. Bao buns for me is something that is exciting and fresh, yet satisfying. I made my own many years ago and after succeeding once or twice, I also had a couple of failed attempts and therefore thought I would buy ready made buns this time. After all I don’t have as much time as I used to!

I bought these steamed buns from Waitrose’s own brand Japan Menyu and they were perfect. Soft and pillowy and the perfect size for a handheld bao bun, ready to be filled however you like. As the bun is so nice and soft, I wanted something crispy to counteract it.

Therefore I decided to make crispy panko fried chicken, with cucumber, pickled onions, sesame seeds and a coconut sriracha sauce. Let me talk to you about this sauce. I love sriracha and I love anything coconut flavoured, so when I saw this sauce I had to have it! I actually bought mine from Amazon as my local Chinese supermarket didn’t have it in stock, but it was so worth it.

So here’s what I did to make this bao bun. First of all I made my pickled red onions. This is optional but gosh it adds a great hit of flavour. I thinly sliced red onions and placed them in a heatproof jar. Then I boiled water with white vinegar, sugar, salt, coriander seeds and peppercorns. I poured this mixture over the onions and closed the lid. I then had deliciously pink pickled red onions in a matter of a couple of hours. Yum!

Next I prepared my chicken. I used chicken thighs for this recipe to keep the chicken nice and tender. I coated the chicken in flour, then egg mixed with the coconut sriracha sauce, followed by panko breadcrumbs. Make sure you season the flour and the breadcrumbs before you coat the chicken. I then shallow fried the chicken in vegetable oil and finished the cooking in an air fryer. If you want to cook them straight in the air fryer then just brush some oil on the chicken before putting it in. Works just as well!

After this I mixed some coconut sriracha sauce with mayonnaise, as that sauce is spicy! The mayonnaise just mellowed the flavour a little, but this is up to you. Then I sliced some cucumber ribbons and got all my garnishes ready.

Once the chicken was cooked it was time to assemble. First lay some cucumber ribbons at the bottom of the bun, then add the crispy chicken, then the pickled onions, sprinkle on some sesame seeds and coriander and drizzle on that coconut sriracha mayonnaise. It was delicious!

A great dish for a dinner party or a fun weekend dinner with your loved ones. I’ll definitely be experimenting more with these bao buns from Waitrose. Any ideas what I should try next? Leave me a comment below 🙂

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know if you give this a try, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, as I realise I didn’t type up a proper recipe.

Have a great evening all!

My name is Bhavisha Surti and I am a food photographer and stylist based in Milton Keynes. Please subscribe to my blog below and check out my website to see more of my work at www.jbimagery.co.uk. Thank you!