# Baozi

Baozi (Chinese: 包子), or simply bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed. They are a variation of mantou from Northern China.
Baozi are popular throughout China and have even made their way into the cuisines of many other countries through the Chinese diaspora.

## History and etymology

Written records from the Song dynasty show the term baozi in use for filled buns. Prior to the Northern Song dynasty (960–1279), the word mantou was used for both filled and unfilled buns. According to legend, the filled baozi is a variation of manta invented by military strategist Zhuge Liang. Over time mantou came to indicate only unfilled buns in Mandarin and some varieties of Chinese, although the Wu Chinese languages continue to use mantou to refer to both filled and unfilled buns.

## Types

| English name | Chinese name (Mandarin/Hakka/Cantonese/Hokkien) | Other names | Description |
| Description ||
| Meicai pork belly bao bun | 梅菜扣肉包 Méi cài kòu ròu bāo | | Steamed buns, folded like tacos, are stuffed with slices of braised pork belly flavored with dried mustard greens. |
| Cha siu bao, Charsiu bau | 叉燒包 chāshāobāo caa1 siu1 baau1 | manapua, Siopao | Filled with Cantonese barbeque (char siu) |
| Goubuli | 狗不理 gǒubùlǐ | | a well known restaurant chain specializing in baozi considered characteristic of Tianjin, Northern China; Its name literally means, "Dog ignores it". |
| Xiaolongbao | 小籠包/小笼包 xiǎolóngbāo | | a small, meat-filled baozi from Shanghai containing an aspic that reverts to a juicy broth when cooked. Because it is succulent and prepared only with thin, partially leavened dough, it is sometimes considered different from other bao types, and more closely resembles a jiaozi (dumpling). |
| Shuijianbao | 水煎包 shuǐjiānbāo | | Very similar to xiaolongbao, but pan-fried instead of steamed. |
| Shengjian mantou | 生煎饅頭/生煎馒头 shēngjiān mántou | | A small, meat-filled, fried baozi from Shanghai. |
| Tangcaobaozi | 湯包/汤包 tāngbāo | | a large soup-filled baozi from Yangzhou Drunk through a straw; in other areas of China, it is small in size with a rich soup. |
| Doushabao | 豆沙包 dòushābāo | Hokkien: tāu-se-pau | Filled with sweet bean paste. |
| Lotus seed bun | 蓮蓉包/莲蓉包 liánróngbāo | | Filled with sweetened lotus seed paste |
| Kaya-baozi | 咖央包子 | Malay: pau kaya | filled with Kaya, a popular jam made from coconut, eggs, and sometimes pandan in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore |
| Naihuangbao | 奶黃包/奶黄包 nǎihuángbāo | | filled with sweet yellow custard filling |
| Siopao | 燒包 sio-pau | Filipino/Tagalog: siyopaw | steamed, filled with either chicken, pork, shrimp or salted egg |
| Zhimabao | 芝麻包 zhīmabāo | | steamed, filled with a black sesame paste |
| Yacaibao | 芽菜包 Yácàibāo | | steamed, filled with a type of pickle, spices and possibly other vegetables or meat, common in Sichuan, China |
| Bah-pau | 肉包 bah-pau | Indonesian: bakpau or bakpao Javanese: ꦧꦏ꧀ꦥꦲꦸ, romanized: bakpau Dutch: bapao | filled with minced pork, or alternatively chocolate, strawberry, cheese, mung bean, red bean, minced beef, or diced chicken. |
| Big Pau | 大包 dàbāo | | large buns filled with pork, eggs and other ingredients |
| Crisp Stuffed Bun | 破酥包 poshubao | | A lard-layered bun with pork, lard, bamboo shoot, and soy sauce; or with the filling of Yunnan ham and white sugar or brown sugar. Crisp Stuffed Bun was created by a chef from Yuxi almost a hundred years ago. |
| Tandoori Baozi | 烤包子 Kao Baozi | Uyghur: سامسا самса Samsa | A Uyghur specialty, cooked in tandoor instead of steaming it. Usually filled with lamb, potatoes, and spices. |

## Gua bao

Gua bao (割包/刈包, koah-pau, 虎咬豬, hó͘-kā-ti) originated as Fujianese street food. Unlike other types of Bao, Gua Bao is made by folding over the flat steamed dough and is thus open. It is designed to fit easily in your hands and has a wide variety of fillings.

## Outside of China

In many Chinese cultures, these buns are a popular food, and widely available. While they can be eaten at any meal, baozi are often eaten for breakfast. They are also popular as a portable snack or meal.
The dish has also become common place throughout various regions of Northeast Asia with cultural and ethnic relationships, as well as Southeast Asia and outside Asia due to long standing Chinese immigration.
* In Buryatia and Mongolia, the variants of the recipe, often with beef or lamb, are known as buuz and buuza.
* Given the long history of the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia way before the British colonial years of British Malaya times, the Malays have adopted these buns as their own. A particularly Malay form of the baozi (called pau in Malay) is filled with potato curry, chicken curry, or beef curry that are similar to the fillings of Malay curry puffs. Some variants have a quail egg in the middle, in addition to the curry. Other variations include Kaya (jam) or red bean paste as the filling. Due to the high number of Muslims in Malaysia, these buns are halal and contain no pork. One can find Malay stalls selling the buns by the roadside, at pasar malams (night markets), highway rest stops, and pasar Ramadans (Ramadan food bazaars).
* Similarly, in Indonesia the dish has been adopted into Indonesian cuisine through the integration of Chinese culture. It has been adopted through the Hokkien language name of bakpau or bakpao. In addition to meat fillings, local variants include: chocolate, sweet potato, and marmalade filling. Bakpau is found in Indonesia as a take away food sold by cart street hawkers. Bakpau in Indonesia is usually sold in dabao size (lit.: "big pau"), around 10 cm in diameter. To accommodate the dietary restrictions of Indonesia's Muslim majority, the original pork filling has been replaced with minced beef, diced chicken, or even sweet mung bean paste and red bean paste. Pau with non-meat fillings are still called bakpau by Indonesians, despite the lack of meat. It is usually served with sweet chili sauce.
* Due to influence from Indonesia, supermarkets in the Netherlands commonly have in stock what the Dutch call bapao or sometimes bakpao. One can easily find frozen or sometimes in the bigger supermarkets cooled bapao/bakpao wrapped in plastic, ready-made to be heated inside a microwave. The most prevalent filling is chicken, although there are also pork, beef, and vegetarian variants widely available. This food is categorized as a quick snack or a fast-food item. Freshly baked forms of this steamed bun are however not a staple food item in the Netherlands outside of the Chinese community living there.
* In the Philippines, their version of baozi is called siopao brought by Chinese immigrants (Sangleys) prior to Spanish colonialism. Varieties of Filipino siopao fillings include barbecued pork, meatballs, flaked tuna, and sometimes chocolate and cheese.
* A similar concept is also present in Thailand, called salapao (ซาลาเปา).
* Baozi is also very popular in Japan where it's known as chūkaman (中華まん, "Chinese steamed bun"). Nikuman (肉まん; derived from 肉饅頭, nikumanjū) is the Japanese name for Chinese baozi with meat fillings. Chūkaman are steamed and often sold as street food. During festivals, they are frequently sold and eaten. From about August or September, through the winter months until roughly the beginning of April, chūkaman are available at convenience stores, where they are kept hot. It's also available as chilled food in supermarket and a part of usual food.
* In Korea, where it is known as hoppang, it is a warm snack sold throughout South Korea. It is a convenience food version of jjinppang (steamed bread), typically filled with smooth, sweetened red bean paste and also commonly sold stuffed with vegetables and meat, pizza toppings, pumpkin, or buldak.Cambodian num pao
* The Cambodian version, num pao (នំប៉ាវ) is a popular street food.
* Bánh bao is the Vietnamese version of the Cantonese tai bao that was brought over by Chinese immigrants.
* The Myanmar version is called pauk-si (ပေါက်စီ) and is a popular snack available in almost every traditional tea shops.
* In Mauritius, many Mauritian dishes are influenced by Sino-Mauritians; this includes baozi which is simply referred as "pao" (sometimes written as "pow" or "paw"). They are typically filled with Chinese sausage, poultry, black mushroom, and soy egg, among others. They are very popular among Mauritian families and continues to remain an omnipresent part of Sino-Mauritian culture.