Num Pao (Bao) នុំប៉ាវ is the Cambodian name for the Chinese Steamed Bun. While there may be a varieties of filling from sweet to savory I really like the pork, egg and sausage fillings. This is also how the Vietnamese make their steamed buns called Banh Bao.
Making Num Pao is a bit time consuming but to me it pays off because I get to enjoy it again for breakfast, lunch or as a snack some other time. Another benefit is that you get to control what you put inside and how much. I’ve purchase Num Pao before where I choose the biggest one only to regret because it’s all dough-y and there was very little fillings.
Ingredients
1 pkg 16 oz of steamed buns flour
6 hard boil eggs cut in half length-wise
3 Chinese sausages, diced & sliced
1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
12 wax paper cut into 2×2 inches
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup of sugar
Filling mixture
½ lb ground pork
½ onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon black pepper
Making the dough:
Prepared dough according to the direction on the package. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of flour and set aside. This will be use for dusting your work place and rolling pin. Dissolve sugar with milk and add the flour slowly. Mix well then knead to a dough. Knead for about 15-20 minutes. Add the oil and continue to knead another 10 minutes. Wrap the dough (or cover) and allow to sit for about 30 minutes. Once time is up, create a sausage like shape and divide it into 12 equal portions. Cover it with a damp cloth until it’s ready to use.
To make the filling:
Mix ground pork, onion, oyster sauce, chopped garlic and black pepper. You can add some diced Chinese sausage with the pork mixture or just used sliced ones.
Forming the bun:
Bring a pot of water (about 10 cups depending on the type of pot you are using) and add vinegar. Allow it to boil. In the meantime roll a piece of the dough thinly using the reserved flour to dust your work space, hands and rolling pin so it doesn’t stick. Lay a couple slice of Chinese sausage. Ad about 1 tablespoons of filling and top it with the halve egg. To close the bun, gather the sides to the center, twist and pinch to seal. Lay the bun on a piece of wax paper. Keep forming to make 12 buns.
Lay them on a steamer making sure to leave ample space in between as the buns will fluff up and expand in size. Steam about 15 minutes then remove the lid and continue to steam another 10 minutes. Steamed bun is now ready to enjoy. Leftovers can be freeze by wrapping them individually and storing them in a zip-lock bag. When you want to eat them, just pop it in the microwave for about 1 minute and it’s as good as the first time. 
Mmmmm….they look so good. The last time I made these I ran out of wax paper and I used muffin cups instead and it works just as great. Do you know of any other types of recipe fillings for steam buns? I’m having a bit of a delima (<—spelling),I love the recipe but my kids and hubby don't care for the fillings so I end up eating all the buns. Hubby doesn't like the sausage and kids don't like the ground pork. Any suggestions?? Love your new pic by way. Cute!
Hi Key,
Well for the fillings you can do like a BBQ pork of chicken like how the Chinese make their steamed bun. I think those fillings are usually pre-cooked and then add it to the dough for steaming. This will cook faster as you are only cooking the dough and reheating the fillings. I’ve seen sweet fillings like lotus paste, pineapple paste, and black sesame seed paste being used too although I have yet to try making them myself. 
Thanks for the compliment, again.
Ooooh! What a coincident
I made this the other day for the first time and it turned out quite well (for a beginner).
What’s the purpose of adding vinegar to the boiling water?
Also, what brand (the package) of flour did you use to make your dough?
I wish you would have taken a step by step picture to show us:( But the result came out looking delicious!
Thank you!
Sreyneang,
Yeah there so many things you can add for fillings. I’ve eaten buns that has carrots and peas too. I might give jicama a try the next time around. Thanks Sreyneang.
Adding vinegar to the water for steaming the buns will make them whiter.
Just a suggestion, Try adding Jicama(cutting in tiny cubes) to the pork mixture, it’s yummy!!
Thank you for Cambodian Recipe. I like your website. It help us to make Cambodian food. I thank you.
David Saray
David,
You are very welcome. Make sure you let me know how it taste once you get a chance to test out my recipes.
i haven’t had this in a while. they look so good!
I will try this soon. How many nums can you make out of the recipe?
Never mind… I just reread it and missed it the 1st time.
Thanks for the recipe! It worked well except that I need abit more practice with the shaping of the buns. It came out abit flat and was bigger than I thought!
I never thought it would be so simple and delicious so thanks again!
I love cooking and the art of learning how to cook, the problem is i cant cook. haha
You make me feel that i can do it as long as i get the right mentor. Thanks bong srey.
by the wat, is the bread sweet? when i was younger my mom would buy these nom bao for me and it had a red dot on it to indicate it was sweet
(i would not eat them if they didnt have it)
so im not sure if this recipe has the bread plain or sweet.
thanks again.
The flour itself is plain but you can adjust the sweetness to your liking. The recipe include milk and some sugar and yield a lil sweetness but I’ve done it where I add a little more sugar
and it still taste yummy (to me at least). 
That’s the joy of making it yourself, you can always adjust to your taste.
I made this the other day and it turned out quite well. Which flour package do you recommend? I’ve tested out a few and the one that came out the best is no longer for sale at the stores.
Lv,
So far I’ve tried out two different kinds of flour and I prefer the one that I linked on my post. If you look at the ingredients there is a link to the image of the kind of flour I used for my Steamed Bun.
I’ve died and gone to heaven. this has to be my ultimate favorite recipe i had to ask so many older khmer people for the recipe to num pow and they didn’t know.love yah!
I don’t have a steamer, would I be able to use the oven instead and for how long?
Kim,
This recipe is for the steamed version so I’m not sure the dough would work if you put it in the oven. There might be different recipe for baked buns that you can check out online. But if you do try to use this recipe in an oven, please do share with us how it go for you.
What are the technique of boiling the buns? However, I believe tha you have to buy the steamer pots, right? I mean, you can’t just boil the water the those other pots which you made the sa-law with…
Emily,
You will need a steamer to steam the buns. If can also use a regular pot with a bamboo steamer set on the top along with a fitted lid (like that serve at dim sum places).
The only steamed bun flour i can find is a very large bag in grams. How many cups of the flour are in your 16oz bag? And this one requires yeast. Do you put yeast in yours? How much?
Jessica,
The package that I got is an already-mixed steamed bun flour. If your is just flour only then it’s just general and you would need to add in other things such as baking powder, sugar and yeast. Now, as far as the measurement I am not sure because like mention my prepared flour was already mixed so the other ingredients were consider when I listed the measurement in my recipe.
My suggest would be to search for a homemade steamed bun flour recipe online because this might provide you with measurements for each ingredients used to make the dough. Good luck!