How to Make the Iconic Hong Kong Spam and Egg Bun

Introduction

Hong Kong spam and egg buns or what a lot of Chinese call 餐蛋包 is a popular sweet and savoury spam and egg bun that you’ll be hard-pressed to miss when visiting a Hong Kong bakery shop.

These spam and egg buns are extremely popular at Hong Kong bakeries all around the world and my parents typically always bring home a few everytime they visit a Chinese bakery shop.

If you’ve ever visited a Chinese bakery before then I bet you’ve also come across or even eaten these Hong Kong style spam and egg buns before.

Now do not be deceived by the simplicity of this Chinese luncheon meat and egg bun recipe, it’s actually very flavourful and remarkably delicious.

These buns are incredibly soft and fluffy, and packed full of flavour due to the thick juicy slice of spam meat along with the fluffy and airy piece of egg that encompasses the center of the bun.

If you don’t mind potentially adding some few extra calories into your diet from consuming the spam and egg, then you’ll be greatly rewarded for it with a soft and tender, sweet and savoury bun that you’ll have a hard time putting down once you’ve taken a bite of it.

I’ve re-created this ever popular spam and egg bread recipe so that you can make your very own in the comfort of your own home.

This Hong Kong spam and egg bun recipe isn’t too difficult for beginners, although does require an extra step or two for preparing the filling, mainly the egg and the spam meat, but the preparing the bun is pretty much the same as most of the other Hong Kong style bun recipes.

I hope you’ll enjoy my recipe of the popular Chinese spam and egg bun.

Here’s what you’ll need to make the buns.

Ingredients

Dough

Filling

Tangzhong:

• Water 75 ml
• Bread flour 15 g

Dough:

• Bread flour 185 g
• Milk 35 ml
• 1 Large egg
• Instant yeast 5 g
• Unsalted butter 25 g
• White granulated sugar 40 g
• Table salt 2 g
• Milk powder 5 g

Egg stuffing:

• 6 large eggs
• Table salt 1 tsp
• Milk 1-2 tsp
• Vegetable oil 1 tsp

Spam:

• 6 medium slices of spam

Substitutions

If you don’t have Spam around the house, you can substitute it with any other luncheon meat that you have.

I know in my area, Spam costs a fortune, therefore I typically switch it up with a cheaper luncheon meat option such as the holiday luncheon meat brand which can save me up to 4x the cost!!!

Likewise you can also use ham or any protein of your choice as well as this recipe is very versatile with the protein choice.

Directions

Start by pre-heating your oven to 275°F.

Then crack 6 eggs into a bowl and add in your milk, salt, and vegetable oil.

Mix everything well together in the bowl.

Then using a strainer, pour the eggs through the strainer to remove any impurities from the egg mixture.

Now pour the egg mixture onto a square baking pan and bake the eggs for about 25-30 minutes until the eggs are cooked.

Once the eggs are cooked and cooled down, remove it from the baking pan.

Now divide the egg mixture into 6 pieces and then set the eggs aside.

Now while our eggs are cooking, it’s time to prepare our Tangzhong and dough.

We’re going to start off by making our Tangzhong.

In a small sauce pan, add in your bread flour and water. Heat the pan on low heat while constantly stirring it until the mixture turns into a thick gelatinous paste.

 

Then remove the pan from the stove and transfer it to a small bowl or dish. Cover it with plastic wrap and then store in the fridge and let it cool down for at least 30 minutes before using.

In another large mixing bowl, add in your bread flour, sugar, salt, instant yeast, milk powder, egg, and the cooled down Tangzhong from earlier.

Put the mixing bowl inside of your stand mixer, and give it a few whisks, then slowly add in your milk while the stand mixer is running.

Let it continue to knead the dough for 3-4 minutes then add in your room temperature unsalted butter.

Continue mixing the dough for an additional 9-10 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth.

Now grease a large bowl with some oil, and transfer your dough over to the bowl.

Add some oil to your hands, then shape the dough into a round ball using your hands.

Place the dough back onto the large bowl and cover it with some plastic wrap or a towel.

Place the bowl in a warm environment to let it proof for about an hour until double in size.

While our dough is proofing, we’re going to prepare our spam meat.

Open a can of spam and slice 6 medium sized slices of spam.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, then add in some oil.

Once the oil has been heated, add in your sliced spam to the pan.

Once both sides of the spam has been browned, transfer the spam to a plate and set it aside.

Now once our dough has finished proofing, de-gase the dough and transfer it to a floured counter.

Shape the dough into a round ball and weigh the dough.

 

Now divide the dough into 6 pieces and weigh out each piece.

Then shape each piece into a round ball and cover it with a towel or plastic wrap to prevent it from drying.

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes to relax the dough.

After 15 minutes, grab 1 piece of the dough and roll it out into a long rectangular shape.

Add one piece of both the egg and spam that you made earlier to the top of the dough in the middle.

Now grab one end of the dough and wrap it over the spam and egg and do the same with the other end of the dough.

Pinch the ends of the dough to seal it and flip the bun over.

Repeat the process for the other 5 pieces of dough.

Once done, place the buns onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, making sure to leave at least 1-2 inches of space between each bun.

Cover the buns with a towel or plastic wrap and place it in a warm place to proof for 35-40 minutes.

While the buns are proofing, prepare an egg wash by combining 1 egg with a splash of milk. Whisk the eggs and milk together until everything is well mixed together.

Now would also be a good time to preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).

Once the buns are done proofing, apply the egg wash to the buns.

Then sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of the buns and bake the buns at 350°F (180°C) for 15-16 minutes until the top is browned.

Tips

Since we are working with a high hydration dough, I highly recommend that you use a stand mixer for the kneading process to make life a lot easier for you.

Also when transferring the dough from the stand mixer to the large bowl, it is recommended to either add some water or oil to your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.

Try use a non-stick pan when baking the eggs. This will make it a lot easier to remove the eggs from the pan.

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.S)

Can I use dry active yeast instead of instant yeast?

Yes, absolutely! If you’re using dry active yeast make sure that you proof the yeast in a warm liquid such as water or milk in our case along with some sugar. You should see the yeast foam up at the top and produce a very yeast like smell. If you see this, that means your yeast is good to use.

How long can I store the buns for?

You can store the buns in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Can I use luncheon meat instead of spam?

Yes! If spam is not available or it’s too expensive you can always opt for a cheaper luncheon meat option.

How come my dough is not rising?

There could be a number of reasons such as the following:

• Your yeast is dead. Check if your yeast is still alive by adding 1 tsp of yeast, along with 1 tsp of sugar in 1/2 cup of warm water, give it a good mix, then let it sit for 10-15 minutes. If it starts to foam at the top with a very yeasty smell then your yeast is still alive.
• Your environment is too cold. Yeast rises best in a warm environment
• You mixed in hot water with the yeast and killed it.
• You didn’t knead the dough sufficiently enough. Use the window-pane test to check if your dough has kneaded properly.

I’m lactose Intolerant, can I substitute cow’s milk with something else?

Yes, you can use either water, or some sort of nut milk such as almond milk.

I don’t own a stand mixer, can I hand knead the dough?

Answer: Yes, you can, however do realize that the dough is sticky and will be more difficult to knead by hand. Furthermore, you may need to spend a little more time to knead it compared to using a stand mixer, however it is definitely possible to hand knead it.