A nostalgic, childhood favorite that can be made for gatherings or taken on the go. The key to authenticity is the syrup glaze drizzled right when they come out fresh from the oven! If you do decide to make this recipe, I’d love to see how it turned out for you! Feel free to tag @janiceachan or @eatingwithjanice with your results.
Recipe adapted from: The Woks of Life.
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My go-to items at the Chinese bakery have always been egg tarts, Chinese hot dogs and pineapple buns. The egg tarts and pineapple buns hold really well for days, but Chinese hot dog buns are definitely meant to be eaten right when you buy them. These are the treats of my childhood and I never thought you could make them at home – and make them better than the bakeries!
I almost got the Costco polish dogs for this recipe. Can you imagine?? YUM.
I held myself back and used normal sized hot dogs and would recommend that instead. Otherwise the ropes you’ll need to roll will be very long and difficult to wrap. I seared the hot dogs in an air fryer – then wrapped them in Asian milk bread dough. The result: a fluffy Chinese hot dog bun that rivals any I’ve had in store. Not even kidding, you have to try this recipe!
I’ve linked to the equipment I used in the recipe below.
Chinese Hot Dog Buns
Would recommend using a scale to measure out ingredients – everything should also be at room temperature before you start combining.
Recipe Adapted from The Woks of Life.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Oven
- Mixer – with dough hook attachment (or dough whisk if no mixer)
- Food Scale or:
- Baking sheet
- Baking pan
- Optional: Air Fryer or Pan for precooking hot dogs
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup heavy cream (160 ml) – at room temp
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp milk (250 ml) – at room temp
- 1 large egg – at room temp
- 1/3 cup sugar (75g)
- 4 cups bread flour (512g)
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast (11g)
- 1.5 tsp salt (7g)
- 12 hot dogs
- Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tsp water)
- Sugar wash (2 tsp sugar dissolved in 2 tsp hot water)
Instructions
- Add heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt in the order listed. Using a dough whisk or dough hook attachment, stir slowly, occasionally stopping to push the dough together. (On a mixer – it will take around 15 min on the “stir” setting)
- Time for proofing after your hard work (or the mixer’s work!). Cover the bowl with a towel or saran wrap and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough should rise to about 1.5 its original size.
- While you’re waiting for the dough to proof, you can air fry or pan fry the hot dogs. To pan-fry, just cook the hot dogs till they have just enough color on them. If air frying, add hot dogs to a 390 degree preheated air fryer for 4 minutes, tossing at 2 minutes.
- After the hour of proofing, stir the dough for another 5 min on the stand mixer or by hand – this will get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 pieces.
- Take each piece of dough and roll it into an 8-10 inch rope. Roll the ropes around each hot dog, tucking in the ends. Place each assembled bun 2-3 inches apart on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you’ve wrapped all 12 buns.
- Cover the sheet and allow the buns to rise in a warm place for another hour. The buns should be close to 2x in size by the end.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush buns with the egg wash and bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove buns and lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for an additional 8-9 minutes or until golden.
- Remove from the oven and immediately brush buns lightly with the sugar wash.
Tips for Success
- There’s a really good tip on Lauren Caris Cooks to ensure that your dough always rises. First, put the dough in your oven to ensure a pretty constant temperature. Second – add a bit of boiled water into a small bowl at the bottom of your oven, then close the lid. Leave the dough in there for 60-90 minutes and it will get HUGE. It’s a game changer, this tip! My bread has turned out so fluffy and perfect each time!
- You can add scallions, sesame seeds or other garnishes – anything you’d like!
- The high heat to low heat baking really helps give these buns a good golden color while leaving the inside milky and soft!
- These taste best fresh out of the oven – after a few hours the bread may harden – you can reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to get the fluffy texture again. They’ll keep for 3-4 days.
Hope you get to try this recipe and that you’re safe and sound during this time.
Thanks for taking a break, stay safe xx
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