Mantou Chinese Steamed Buns

Published May 24, 2020 Updated Aug 26, 2024

Mantou Buns

Mantou is one of my favorite Chinese food! In Chinese, mantou is written as 馒头, a staple food in China. They are endless variations that you can try, with or without filling. In this recipe, I added some mashed sweet potatoes (yam) to the dough and turn them into sweet potato mantou. These Chinese steamed buns are so soft, fluffy, especially when they are fresh off the steamer. They are absolutely delicious!

Mantou Recipe Ingredients

In this recipe, you are going to learn the simple step-by-step for DIY homemade mantou from scratch. My recipe calls for very simple ingredients:

Yeast Sugar Water All-purpose flour Sweet potatoes Cooking oil

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.

How To Make Mantou

It’s very easy to make mantou at home and the recipe is very simple and straight forward. First, you will need a yeast mixture to make the mantou dough. To activate the yeast, add warm water and sugar to the yeast. The yeast mixture will become foamy once the yeast is activated. Next, make the dough by combining the yeast mixture with flour, sugar and oil. For this recipe, I added mashed sweet potatoes to the dough. Knead the dough until smooth and shiny. Divide and cut the dough. Let rise for 1 hour or until the dough expands. The final step is to steam the dough in a steamer. After 10 minutes, you will have soft and fluffy mantou ready to serve.

What To Serve With Mantou

Serve these mantou as a breakfast item or afternoon snack. For a wholesome Chinese breakfast, I recommend the following recipes. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.