Pan-Fried Leek Buns with Dried Shrimp Recipe (Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao 韭菜水煎包)

Pan-Fried Leek Buns or Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao as some may call it is a staple food item that is popular all over Asia. It is juicy and plump and is filled with all sorts of interesting ingredients that bring out some truly delicious flavors. In this recipe, we will show you how to make it in the most authentic way possible.

One of the most popular types of food you’ll see in Asia are something called buns.

And there are a hundreds of different varieties of these delicious buns for people to buy.

Each with various types of fillings that will make your mouth drool with each and every bite. One of them being the Pan-Fried Leek Buns / Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao / 韭菜水煎包. This delicious bun is one of the most commonly found buns you’ll find all across Asia.

In fact, my first ever experience with this bun was when I was visiting Taiwan and was just roaming around the night markets. I found this one stall that specializes in selling buns and just had to try them out.

Immediately after the first bite, I knew I was hooked. This juicy bun was filled with so much flavor that I just had to buy more. I don’t remember exactly how many I bought that night, but it had to be over 10!

Either way, it was an experience like no other.

And in this post, I want to share with you exactly how to make this delicious bun.

I want you all to be able to enjoy this deliciously tasting bun exactly like I did.

So if you’re ready, lets get started!

What Is Pan-Fried Leek Buns?

If you never had or seen a Pan-Fried Leek Buns / Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao / 韭菜水煎包 before, you are totally missing out!

Pan-Fried Leek Buns are basically soft and fluffy buns. They are then filled with some of the most tasty ingredients you’ll ever have.

Most commonly the buns are filled with pork and some sort of vegetable like leek or chives. These vegetables helps to enhance the flavor of the buns.

In the Western world, some people tend to call them dumplings. Which I don’t really think is that correct of a term as they are literally buns. Dumplings are something else entirely.

These buns are them pan fried to get that really crispy bottom bun. They are then doused with water to help steam the buns.

It sounds like a lot of work but really isn’t.

It’s one of the most popular foods you’ll run across in Asia as almost all of the shops in Asia will sell these kinds of buns.

Do You Have To Use Dried Shrimp?

To be honest, you do not have to use dried shrimp if you don’t want to.

In fact, I know many places around the world that serve this special bun don’t use dried shrimp at all.

It’s just a preference to do so.

But if you are able to, I would highly recommend you to use dried shrimp with your Pan-Fried Leek Buns / Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao / 韭菜水煎包 because it will bring out a nice umami flavor that will make everything taste so much more delicious.

But if you simply can’t have it or just don’t want to add it in, then you are perfectly fine in skipping it altogether.

Ingredients To Make Pan-Fried Leek Buns

The ingredients you’ll need to make the Pan-Fried Leek Buns / Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao / 韭菜水煎包 are all relatively easy to find.

Basically the ingredients you’ll need consists of:

For The Crust

• All-Purpose Flour – 1 Cup
• Salt – 1/4 Teaspoon
• Vegetable Oil – 1 Tablespoon
• Water – 1/2 Cup

For The Filling

• Dried Baby Shrimp – 1 Tablespoon
• Leeks – 4 to 6 Large Leeks White and Green Parts Only (Can be replaced with a large bunch of Chives)
• Vegetable Oil – 2 Tablespoon
• Salt – 1/2 Tablespoon
• Dried Mung Bean Starch Noodles (Bean Thread Noodles) 1/2 Pound
• Sesame Oil – 1 Teaspoon
• Ground White Pepper – 1/4 Teaspoon

For Cooking

• Vegetable Oil – 2 Tablespoon
• Water – 1/2 Cup

How To Make Pan-Fried Leek Buns

Making these Pan-Fried Leek Buns / Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao / 韭菜水煎包 is a relatively simple thing to do.

However it does take some time.

The process to make these buns is as followed:

For The Crust

Combine the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Then stir in the oil and enough of the water so that the dough is able to come together into the shape of a ball.

Then on a floured work surface, put your dough onto it and then knead the dough until the surface becomes smooth. This should take about 10 minutes.

Put the dough back into the bowl and cover with plastic and set it aside to rest for about 30 minutes.

For The Filling

Grab a small bowl and soak the dried shrimp in about 1/4 cup of water for at least 5 to 10 minutes.

Once the shrimp has softened up, drain the water from the bowl and take your shrimp and put it on a chopping board. Finely chop your shrimp into small pieces and then set aside.

Onto the same cutting board, take your leeks or chives and finely chop them into tiny pieces. Then set it aside.

Grab a large skillet or wok and heat some vegetable oil into it over medium-high heat.

Once the oil is hot enough, toss in your soaked shrimp to cook, stirring until things get fragrant. This should take about 30 seconds.

After 30 seconds of cooking the shrimp, toss in your finely chopped leeks or chives along with some salt and cook. Make sure to stir occasionally until the leeks are softened and the juices have mostly evaporated. This should take about 8 to 10 minutes.

Once time is up, turn off the heat and put the cooked shrimp and leeks into a bowl and set it aside. You should have about 1 cup of the leek/shrimp mixture.

Now it’s time to cook your noodles. So read the back of your noodle package and follow the instructions they say to cook your noodles. Drain well and let it sit to cool down.

Once the noodles have cooled, transfer them to a cutting board and coarsely chop the noodles into small pieces. This should leave you with about 1 cup of chopped noodles.

Then grab a large mixing bowl and combine the cooked leek/shrimp mixture with the noodles.

Stir in some sesame oil and white pepper for flavor. You’ll want to taste test the mixture to see if it needs any more salt or white pepper.

Making The Bun

To form the buns, you’ll want to grab your bowl with the rested dough and divide the dough into 8 equal sections.

My preferred method of doing this is to simply roll the dough into a log shape and cut it into 8 equal sections.

Roll out each section on a slightly floured surface to a round shape about 4 inches in diameter.

Then grab your bowl with the fillings and take about 1 tablespoon of the filling and place it inside the center of the round shaped dough.

Carefully bring the edges of the dough to the center of the bun to seal it shut over the filling. You might want to twist the top of the dough to make it sealed tighter. Make sure to not have no gaps or holes available in the bun.

Then place the buns on a lightly floured surface and let them rest until you have finished making the rest of the batches.

Cooking The Buns

Once you have made all of your buns, it’s time to cook them.

Grab a large skillet that has a lid and heat some oil in it over medium-high heat.

Once the oil is hot enough, arrange as many buns inside the skillet as will fit in a single layer so that the bottoms of the bun retain full contact with the pan. (You may have to cook these in batches if your pan isn’t as big.)

Cook the buns until the bottoms are just golden-brown. This should take about 2-3 minutes.

Then add the water into the pan and immediately cover the pan.

Let the buns steam until the dough on the tops of the bun have turned into a translucent color rather than opaque white. This should take about 8 to 10 minutes.

If there is still any liquid remaining in the pan, uncover and continue to cook until the liquid has fully evaporated.

Once the liquid is gone, turn off the heat and serve immediately.

Other Variations

One of the best things about making Pan-Fried Leek Buns / Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao / 韭菜水煎包 is that they are very versatile in how you make them.

You could swap out many ingredients for something else or just add in more ingredients if you want.

The choice is totally up to you.

For instance, one of the most popular things that people switch out are leeks for chives. Using chives in these buns makes for a more tastier bun that will have you craving for more and more.

Some people like to also add extra vegetables inside too, like mushrooms, carrots and anything else they want to add. It is totally fine!

Plus you can also make a meat variety as well! For instance, you can half the amount of vegetables and toss in some ground pork or even ground beef for a meatier bite.

How To Store/Keep For Future Use

Storing these Pan-Fried Leek Buns / Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao / 韭菜水煎包 are a relatively simple thing to do.

Basically you just put them inside an air-tight container or a dish that is covered with plastic wrap, and store it in the fridge. The buns should be able to keep well for 3 to 4 days.

You can also freeze them if you want. Simply cover them tightly inside an air-tight container or a dish with plastic wrap and they’ll be able to keep well for up to 3 months in the freezer.

When you are wanting to eat these again, you’ll want to re-heat them. The best way to do this is to simply pan-fry and steam them again. If you are lazy however, a few minutes in the microwave will work just as well.

Did you try making my Pan-Fried Leek Buns / Jiu Cai Shui Jian Bao / 韭菜水煎包? If so, how were they? I would love to hear all about it down in the comment section below or you can connect with my on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Or if you are interested, you can check out my site for more amazing recipes!