Soft bao buns with juicy barbecue pulled chicken.
If you are looking for an easy and genuinely good recipe for filled bao buns, try these bao with pulled chicken and barbecue sauce. The soft, pillowy bao are filled with juicy pulled chicken tossed in sweet barbecue sauce, softened onions and fresh parsley – a simple combination that tastes wonderful.
The recipe is ideal if you have leftover pulled chicken in the fridge or freezer. In fact, it is well worth making a large batch and freezing it in smaller portions, so you can quickly conjure up an easy lunch or dinner. The meat is simply heated through with fried onions and barbecue sauce before it goes into the warm bao buns.
You can also use poached, shredded chicken breast.
I have used ready-made bao buns, which only need warming through, making the recipe extra quick and easy. You can of course make them yourself if you feel like it – and I am hoping to have a recipe for homemade bao buns on the site soon.
I have kept the filling very simple, so the juicy pulled chicken really takes centre stage. That said, you can easily add crunchy vegetables such as cucumber, carrot, red onion or fresh coriander if you want a little extra freshness and crunch.
A chilli mayo is also the perfect companion to these bao with pulled chicken and barbecue sauce.
Bao with pulled chicken are perfect for both lunch and dinner, but they also work beautifully as part of a buffet or as a starter. Allow 3-4 bao per person as a main course, ideally served with a fresh salad on the side, or 1-2 per person if serving them as a snack or as part of a larger meal.
Bao buns with BBQ pulled chicken
Ingredients
BBQ chicken
- 2 red onions, cut into strips
- 500 g pulled chicken – click here for the recipe
- 6-8 tbsp BBQ sauce – click here for the recipe
- 2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley, chopped
To serve
- 12 bao buns
- Spring onions, finely sliced
- Chilli mayo
- Optional: finely sliced carrots, cucumber or similar
Method
- Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan and fry the onions until soft and translucent.
- Add the pulled chicken and BBQ sauce and heat through thoroughly, then stir in the parsley at the end. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Meanwhile, warm the bao buns as directed on the packet, and slice any extra vegetables if you want to add them.
- Fill the warm bao buns with the chicken and scatter with spring onions – and serve with chilli mayo.
Nutrition
Premium
