Instant Pot Potstickers, Bao Buns, Dim Sum
These Instant Pot Potstickers are made in the form of round Instant Pot Bao Buns, an Asian steamed dim sum of sorts. You will see any of those terms used to describe various sorts of Instant Pot steamed dumplings. I tend to stick mainly with the pot sticker term, whether I make them round like Bao Buns or in the more traditional potsticker shape. But if you want to get particularly technical with it, these fall under the Bao term. I used all terms here to help people find what they might be looking for.
Technically Potstickers are often also fried, but you will see people use the term for steamed as well. In my area many Asian restaurants call them potstickers regardless of the technical differences. Regardless, whatever term you use, these are steamed buns. Update: Regardless of my previous statements, I seem to be getting some flack on Facebook about calling these anything but Bao Buns. So if you wish to be entirety accurate, at least according to those who expressed concern, and I am going to assume that they are correct (and that meshes with my knowledge), then refer to these as Bao Buns.
Instant Pot Potstickers (aka Bao Buns or Dim Sum)
These potstickers are easy to make in the Instant Pot. The recipe uses the Instant Pot for both the filling and for steaming the dumplings. Depending on how large you make them, this recipe makes anywhere from 6-10 dumplings.
You might be able to get 12 by rolling the dough out very thin. But I like mine bigger and fatter!
The dough is a simple mix of flour, salt, yeast, sugar, and water. It does need to rise for about 45 minutes, plus another 15 after filling. So allow time for that.
The filling is a mix of soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, water, and cornstarch.
Pork and onion is sauted in the Instant Pot and then the sauce mix added. From there the Potstickers (Bao Buns) are filled.
Roll the dough out on a flour coated surface and use a 4 or 5 inch cookie cutter to but out the buns. You can also trace around a ramekin or small bowl with a knife to do this.
Place the filling in the center of the cut out dough and then gather it all up in the middle. This makes a round Bao Bun or Dim Sum style Pot Sticker.
For the more traditional oval shape PotSticker, fold the sides over and pinch at the seam.
The buns are allowed to rise again for 15 minutes and then are steamed in the Instant Pot.
Pour 1 cup of water into the inner pot of Instant Pot, put the trivet inside and then put the potstickers in steamer basket or on a plate. Place that with the bun on the trivet. Don’t crowd the buns!
Steam for three minutes using the pressure cooker’s stem setting, quick release the pressure, and enjoy!
Serving Instant Pot Potstickers
Serve with a spicy soy dipping sauce or sauce of your choice. Here is fellow food blogger’s post with four different Asian Style Dipping Sauces.
Instant Pot Potstickers make a nice appetizer for Asian or Chinese dinners, such as these dishes:
Instant Pot Potstickers, aka Bao Buns, Dim Sum
Steamed Instant Pot Potstickers made in the style of Bao Buns or Dim Sum. These Asian steamed dumplings have an easy to make filling and are steamed in the Pressure Cooker.
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3/4 cup room temperature water
- Filling:
- 2 cups ground pork
- ¼ cup minced onion
- Filling Sauce:
- 1 tbsp. light soy
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 cup very warm water (110-120 degrees)
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
Instructions
- In a small bowl combiner soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, corn starch, and water.
- Stir to combine.
- In the Instant Pot add the pork and onion.
- Saute until the pork is nearly browned and add the sauce
- Saute for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside.
- Clean the Instant Pot liner and dry.
- In a medium bowl add mix the water, yeast, and sugar.
- Slowly add flour to the mixture until it forms a ball.
- Knead the dough mixture for 5 minutes. Add the salt and continue to knead until the dough is smooth.
- Covered the dough and let it rise until double in size, about 45 minutes.
- Roll the dough out on a flour coated surface and, using a 4 or 5 inch circle cookie cutter or a ramekin, cut the buns out.
- Place the filling at the center of each circle of dough and then gather the sides to enclose the bun. Pinch to seal.
- Cover with a clean cloth and let the buns rise for 15 minutes.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the inner pot of Instant Pot and place a metal trivet in the bottom of the pot..
- Place the buns in a steamer basket, on a plate, or in a pan and place onto pf the trivet.
- Close the lid and steam for three minutes, followed by a quick release.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 227Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 410mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 12g
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Thank you for posting this recipe. Made these buns for the first time and they were exquisite!! I was worried making the dough from scratch as I had never done it before but every thing turned out wonderfully!! Love my instant pot!
Glad that you liked them!!!
Hi there!
Can this recipe be made in advance and would you place in fridge before the second rise? I’m familiar with recipes that do this and they normally say to pull your item and as it warms, watch for it to rise, prior to baking. My 9 year old son is so excited to make these but we aren’t sure how long it will take for him to make them….and don’t want to eat dinner at 8pm. 🙂 Advance prep would be a HUGE help.
Thanks for your help!
Beth
Hi! I’m honestly not sure if that would work our not. I haven’t tested it. I would guess that it would work except that your second rise would likely take longer than the recipe calls for since the dough would be starting from a cold state. For example I do pizza dough that way but I take it out of the fridge several hours before using it.
Your buns are perfectly pinched in a subtle spiral. Do you have any advice on how best to do this? Also wondering what type of steamer basket you used. The recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it!
Hi! To get that twist, gather up the dough around the filling and give it twist as you pinch it shut. It take some practice! I have this steamer, or one very much like it. I can’t remember the exact brand anymore: https://amzn.to/3tsVywM (amazon affiliate link), but you can also steam by putting a plate on the trivet.
Can these buns be steamed in a regular steamer instead of an instant pot? Would love to try this recipe today.
Yes, you can use a regular steamer. I don’t have an amount of time to put them in for but would guess at the amount of the time in the recipe plus about 5-10 extra minutes.
I’m not sire what I did wrong but mine didn’t turn out like above. They seemed to turn out more dense. Help?!
Hi! The thickness that you roll out the dough usually has the most impact on density of the buns. I like mine dense, but even for that I tend to roll the dough pretty thin.
what is an instant pot? an air friar? a rice cooker? a pressure cooker? please define instant pot
Can these be made fish free? My husband is allergic to seafood but would love to make these!
Sure! I would just substitute something like teriyaki or extra soy for the oyster sauce. You could also use more Hosin in its place, although I prefer to combine Hosin with something else. This article also lists some additional possible substitutes. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/oyster-sauce-substitute#5.-Teriyaki-sauce