Enhance your bao dining experience with a variety of delightful side dishes. Begin with a revitalizing cucumber salad, adding a tangy, crunchy touch. Steamed pak choi offers vibrant color and essential nutrients, while pickled red cabbage introduces a lively, tangy crunch. Try a pickled carrot salad for an invigorating twist or edamame beans, which provide a nutritious, protein-packed bite. Pair your bao buns with stir-fried noodles, soy sauce eggs, teriyaki salmon bites, or hoisin glazed aubergine to create a balanced, flavorful meal. With these options, you'll discover new ways to enjoy your bao experience even more!
Cucumber Salad
A cucumber salad, characterized by its invigorating and revitalizing qualities, is an ideal accompaniment to bao buns. This side dish is made with sliced cucumbers, vinegar, and sesame oil, offering a rejuvenating, tangy, and flavorful contrast.
Whether spooned over bao buns or served alongside, the crunchy texture and hint of acidity enhance the overall dining experience, adding a crisp and zesty profile.
Steamed Pak Choi
Complementing the invigorating cucumber salad, steamed pak choi brings a nutritious and vibrant element to the table, making it an excellent choice to serve alongside bao buns.
This Chinese vegetable, rich in iron, zinc, and vitamin K, is a healthy side dish that retains its crunchy texture and vibrant green color when steamed.
Quick and easy to prepare, it adds a fresh, satisfying touch to any meal.
Pickled Red Cabbage
Pickled red cabbage introduces a lively and tangy dimension to any meal, making it an excellent accomplice to bao buns.
This easy-to-make side dish, prepared with red wine and cider vinegar, offers an invigorating crunch that perfectly complements the soft bao.
Its versatile nature allows it to pair well with various dishes, enhancing both the flavor and visual appeal of your meal.
Pickled Carrot Salad
Building on the tangy delight of pickled red cabbage, pickled carrot salad offers another invigorating and crunchy side dish to enhance your bao experience.
Made with carrots, vinegar, and spices, this salad requires marinating for at least 24 hours to develop its full tangy taste.
Easy to make at home, it provides a revitalizing contrast to the soft, fluffy bao buns.
Edamame Beans
Edamame beans, harvested as immature soybeans, offer a fresh and vibrant flavor that pairs well with bao buns. These protein-packed beans make a nutritious side dish, adding delightful texture and umami flavor to your meal.
Whether boiled and lightly salted or spiced up with chili, edamame beans are a versatile option, making them a popular choice for a balanced and tasty accompaniment.
Bite-Sized Omelettes
In addition to the vibrant flavors of edamame beans, bite-sized omelettes offer a customizable and protein-rich side dish that pairs seamlessly with bao buns.
These versatile, hand-held omelettes can be easily prepared with ingredients like cheese, vegetables, ham, or herbs.
They provide a convenient, protein-packed addition to the meal, catering to both vegetarian and meat-eating guests while complementing the soft texture of bao buns.
Crushed Avocado
Crushed avocado, often celebrated for its creamy texture and nutritional benefits, serves as an excellent accompaniment to the soft and fluffy bao buns. This versatile side dish is packed with healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Mashing avocado with lime juice, salt, and pepper creates a simple yet flavorful delight. Its smooth consistency contrasts beautifully with the pillowy buns, enhancing your dining experience.
Dipping Sauces
Dipping sauces, essential accompaniments to bao buns, elevate the flavors and enrich the overall dining experience. Popular choices include hoisin sauce, soy sauce, chili oil, and sweet chili sauce, each adding a unique flavor profile.
These sauces can be customized with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, or vinegar, offering a versatile range of tastes that complement the bao perfectly. Experiment to find your favorite pairing.
Ramen Noodle Soup
Ramen noodle soup is a quintessential Japanese dish that combines a flavorful broth, tender noodles, and a variety of toppings to create a hearty and customizable meal.
This comforting dish features a rich broth made from dashi, soy sauce, and miso, while toppings like sliced pork, soft-boiled egg, and nori enhance its deliciousness.
Perfectly paired with bao, ramen noodle soup offers a satisfying culinary experience.
Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
Turmeric roasted cauliflower is a vibrant and nutritious side dish that complements the flavors of bao buns perfectly. It stands out among the best side dishes for its flavorful, golden hue.
The turmeric adds a warm, earthy taste, enhancing the cauliflower's natural sweetness. Easy to prepare, this roasted cauliflower pairs well with bao buns, making your meal both visually appealing and delicious.
Potstickers
Potstickers, also known as dumplings, offer a delightful combination of crispy and tender textures that make them an excellent accompaniment to bao buns.
This popular Chinese dish is typically pan-fried until crispy on one side, then steamed to perfection.
Served as appetizers, potstickers are often paired with a savory dipping sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil, enhancing their rich flavors.
Stir-Fried Noodles
Stir-fried noodles provide a versatile and comforting side dish that complements bao buns perfectly, enriching the meal with diverse flavors and textures.
This quick and easy dish can be made with various ingredients like vegetables, meats, and sauces, creating different flavor profiles.
Whether classic chow mein or spicy garlic noodles, they offer a fusion experience that adds depth and variety to your bao bun meal.
Soy Sauce Eggs
Soy sauce eggs, a cherished addition to many Chinese meals, offer a savory and umami-rich flavor that pairs exquisitely with bao buns.
These hard-boiled eggs are marinated in a blend of soy sauce, tea, and spices, infusing them with a rich taste and dark, marbled appearance.
As a versatile side dish, soy sauce eggs enhance the bao experience with their unique and satisfying flavor.
Teriyaki Salmon Bites
Enhancing your bao bun meal with Teriyaki Salmon Bites introduces a delectable blend of citrus, ginger, chili, and garlic flavors that perfectly complement the soft, pillowy texture of the buns.
These flavorful salmon skewers offer a succulent and protein-packed side dish.
The marinade's citrusy, spicy, and umami-rich notes create a delicious contrast, making your dining experience both delightful and fulfilling.
Are the Best Side Dishes for Serving With Baklava also Suitable for Serving with Bao?
When considering the best side dishes for baklava, it’s important to find options that complement its rich and sweet flavors. However, these side dishes may not be suitable for serving with bao, a savory Chinese street food. It’s best to pair bao with dishes that enhance its distinct flavor profile.
Hoisin Glazed Aubergine
Adding another layer of flavor to your bao bun meal, Hoisin Glazed Aubergine offers a vegetarian-friendly option that harmonizes sweet and savory notes with its rich hoisin sauce.
This side dish can be baked or grilled, enhancing the natural creaminess of the aubergine.
The sweet and savory flavors of the hoisin glaze create a satisfying and unique complement to your bao buns.