What I love about our Mike vs Jeff series is that we always strive to challenge ourselves to do something that we’ve never done before. Many people make it look easy on tv but a lot of techniques takes countless trial and error and sometimes, we may even have to toss out an idea. Well, recently, there is a lot of chatter in the air about using pizza dough to make awesome snacks, particularly Trader Joe’s fresh pizza dough because it’s more flexible in its usage. Well, there is a group of Chinese/Taiwanese Trader Joe’s die-hard fans that have been successful in creating various Chinese snacks ranging from sesame bread (芝麻大餅), scallion pancakes (蔥油餅), gua-bao (open face pork bun) (刈包), steamed fried bun (生煎包／水煎包), beef-filled bun (牛肉餡餅), and pepper bun (胡椒餅). 
While Jeff chose to make steam fried bun, I’m making pepper bun because I prefer baked buns rather than steamed buns. Even though I spent a good deal of my childhood in Taiwan and having traveled there about 10 times since moving to America, I’ve never eaten a pepper bun until my most recent trip there a few years ago. I can’t believe I wasted half of my life without trying this delicious street snack that has the wonderful aroma of toasted sesame seeds on a chewy yet flaky bun with juicy pork and green onion filling that packs a punch of heat from black and white peppers. In the future, every time I go visit Taiwan, I must have at least a pepper bun. My next trip to Taiwan is to try the famous street vendor at the Raohe Street night market in Taipei that produces authentic Fuzhou style pepper buns. I hear the line is long but it’s worth the wait. Even though it’s a street vendor, but it operates like Ding Tai Fung with many people making and baking the buns.
The hardest part about making any buns or any Chinese style breads is the dough. Similar to baking bread, the amount of liquid, yeast, sugar, temperature, and kneading can all affect how successful the final product would be. Thank goodness for Trader Joe’s pizza dough. It takes the guesswork (and hard work) out of the dough making. Unfortunately, there is the second most challenging part about Chinese buns is shaping the bun. Fortunately for the pepper bun, it’s just a round ball with fillings inside which is much easier to shape than the steam fried bun, but it’s still not a walk in the park though, so be forewarned!
- pizza dough
- ¼ cup white sesame seeds
- egg wash
- 1 ½ cups chopped green onions
- ½ lbs coarse ground pork
- 2 tbsp rice wine
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
- Let pizza dough rest on counter for 30 minutes before using
- Mix all the pork filling ingredients together and knead the pork mixture until it becomes paste-like - about 1-2 minutes by hand
- Roll out pizza dough by adding a bit of flour so it’s not super sticky and cut into about 12 portions and roll them into balls
- Roll out each ball to be about 5” wide (if the dough springs back as you roll out, let the dough rest for about 15 minutes more and then try again)
- Place dough on your palm
- Put about 2 tbsp of pork filling on dough and add 2 tbsp of chopped green onions on top almost overflowing
- Pull the edges of dough up towards the center as you close the hole, pushing the filling down
- An easy way is to take opposite sides of the edge and have them meet in the center, then do the same on the 90° / 270° side so it’s a square and then slowly close the gap with each opposing edge
- On the smooth side of the bun, brush top with egg wash and then dip into sesame seed (not just sprinkle but dip because we want lots of sesame seeds)
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400° F for about 20-25 minutes - if sesame seeds start to burn, tent with foil and continue baking until done
- Remove from oven and serve
Your pictures looks really amazing and they really make me miss having this while I was staying in Taiwan. Love the recipe!
I hope if you have the time, that you will be able to comment and read my recent article on it: http://nyamwithny.com/taiwans-hujiao-bing-pepper-cakes/
I run a spicy food blog, Nyam with Ny and even though the pepper cakes aren’t that spicy, I think it’s something worth bringing to the attention of people who enjoy mild spice street food such as this.
I made this recipe for the second time tonight, and it was delicious. I found that if you place the baking rack a bit lower than the center level, the bottom of the buns brown perfectly and are able to hold all the juices inside.
Loved following the step-by-step pictures! When will you be uploading new recipes?
That’s a great idea to brown the bottom of the buns. Appreciate the hint! ~Mike
Hi! Can I somehow freeze these buns? They look so good but it’s a lot for just me to eat! 🙂
Yes, you can absolutely freeze the buns (after it’s baked) and just reheat gently in a toaster oven. Granted, it won’t be as juicy as the first time. ~Mike
Great efforts! If only you had the traditional clay oven to give it that perfect texture and flavor. I also highly recommend substituting curry powder for a very surprising and delicious alternative! This is one tray that needs to be eaten immediately before the dough becomes tough or soggy. Thanks for your posts!
Curry powder is a great idea. The beauty of the pizza dough is that we can substitute various fillings and still come out good. Clay oven would make it perfect indeed! ~Mike
I’ve had them at Raohe Night Market and those were definitely amazing. I have made this recipe 4 times with the 5th batch in the oven now. I’ve adjusted things here and there with each batch but they are very similar in taste to their night market inspiration. Thank you very much for this recipe because I don’t know when I’ll get back across the Pacific to have them again.
I’ve never had them at the Raohe Night Market – I’m heading to Taiwan this fall and I definitely hope to try their legendary pepper bun. Appreciate your comment and support! ~Mike
This was so good! Next time I make it though I’ll probably put less black pepper. Thanks for sharing!
And using the Trader Joe’s pizza dough is so convenient too 🙂 Glad you like it! ~Mike
Wow! I made this recipe for dinner, and it turned out fantastic. The recipe was very easy to follow with the supplementary pictures and video. Using the Trader Joe’s pizza dough is an ingenious hack. It tasted wonderful and was able to produce a thin, crispy crust. If I were to make this again, I would use less soy sauce and sugar (perhaps 1 Tbsp of each). Thanks for sharing!
That’s great! I’m glad it worked out for you. Definitely adjust the recipe to your personal preferences. -Mike
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe..its look yummy.
May i know where can i get the ‘trader Joe’s pizza dough’. I’m staying in kuala lumpur, Malaysia.
Thanks
penny
Unfortunately, I think Trader Joe’s is only in America. Maybe in Malaysia they sell steam bun dough that you can try instead?
Here are some other recipes that teaches how to make the dough:
http://theabcchef.com/2015/06/hu-jiao-bing-pepper-pork-scallion-bun.html
http://www.instructables.com/id/Chinese-Pepper-Meat-Pie-%E8%83%A1%E6%A4%92%E9%A4%85/
Mike