I love char siu buns and I wanted to try my hand at a good vegan version. I replaced the pork with a mix of tofu (for firm meatiness) and eggplant (for fattiness).
First I roasted a whole eggplant, just stabbed it with a knife a few times and put it in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees. Then I opened it and scooped out the flesh when cool enough. I salted it for flavor and to draw out the moisture a bit. All that was done a couple days in advance. When it was time to cook I squeezed as much liquid as I could out with a strainer.
For the tofu I bought firm cottony type and sliced it into planks that I froze for a few days. Freezing helps to get the water out and given it a meatier texture. I would use extra firm or super firm tofu next time. Once it was time to get cooking I microwaved the frozen tofu until it water stopped coming out. Then I gave the planks a quick fry to get both sides golden brown. When they were out of the pan and cool enough to handle I broke them into small pieces by hand to give it a more natural texture than sliced cubes.
After all that was done I just used this recipe for the rest (left out the skim milk powder): https://www.marionskitchen.com/chinese-bbq-pork-steamed-buns/ The video mentions cake flour so I used that instead of all purpose but I’m sure either would work.
Overall I was really happy with the results! Tasted pretty much exactly like the pork version. Next time I might use some red food coloring for that classic look but that’s the fault of the sauce.
by Ectophylla_alba