We’ve seen many food innovations over the past 70 years or so – since the end of the Second World War. But true innovations and really creative new offerings have been few and far between, lately. Today we’ll celebrate one of most enticing new breakfast innovations to surface in a long time…
Remember the Bao? That pillowy Chinese dumpling with the snowy white exterior? The spongy soft interior? And always a delicious, spicy core?
Well, someone’s thought about adapting it – or, if you wish, mashing it up – with Western breakfast favouirites as fillings. Voilà! The Breakfast Bao is born.
A familiar name
We’ve showcased the inspired creations of Primetime food content creator and chef, Josh Elkin (see photo, top of page) before, in this space. Just google his name for the complete, extensive rundown.
This time, he’s stuffing classic bao with classic Western breakfast ingredients, such as scrambled eggs, sausage and cheese (see photo, left).
“I’ve always loved creating food that no one ever thought existed. Then I came across Baozza and thought, ‘pizza stuffed baos are genius’, said Elkin. “We’re working on really exciting flavor combinations and I hope to bring our Baozza Breakfast Baos to market in the near future.”
Baozza specializes in mass production of crossover-inspired dumplings, including four Italian-infused varieties, and a BBQ Chicken version in addition to Elkins’ new Breakfast Bao.
Unlimited potential
I can see no limits top what one could stuff a bao with. And that’s my hidden agenda for this post. What would you stuff a bao with?
Of course, you have to get together the ingredients for the bao wrapper and know how to make them, first. We covered the whys and wherefores of the bao way back in 2015. Among the notable FAQs we revealed is that baos – or something very closely related to them – are found in abundance from Mongolia to Malaysia.
They’re cheap and easy to make, and everybody loves them. Wherever they appear, they’re among the cuisine’s staples.
If you’ve never tried ’em…
You can get frozen bao in a variety of sizes and fillings (mainly Korean Bulgogi Beef or BBQ Pork) at any Asian supermarket. They’re also generally available at mainstream grocery outlets that have an Asian section in the freezer aisle.
They’re easy to prepare: It’s traditional to steam them. But Baozza says you can also pan fry them, air fry them, or oven-toast them.
However you prepare them, I’m confident you’ll like them!
~ Maggie J.