Vegan panko sweet potato bao buns

One of my favourite vegan brands, Oggs, recently launched their own aquafaba. Aquafaba is the liquid left over from a tin of chickpeas (or other legumes). And it can be used in the same way as eggs, for tonnes of different purposes. How neat is that for a great use of a by-product? I was sent some Oggs aquafaba to try out. I haven’t been as active with my recipe creation lately, so it was an incentive to get cooking!

Here’s my vegan panko sweet potato bao buns recipe, with spicy tomato sauce.

Vegan panko sweet potato bao buns recipe

You will need:

• 6 bao buns
• 2 sweet potatoes
• Cornflour
• Panko breadcrumbs
• 150ml Oggs aquafaba
• 400g of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teapoon sugar
• 1-2 chillies, depending on taste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 table white wine vinegar or cider vinegar

I used M&S bao buns. They were £2 for 6 and are vegan. If you’re adventurous and want to make your own, this is a good recipe.

What to do:

1. Put the tin of tomatoes, ketchup, garlic, vinegar, sugar and one chilli (including seeds) into a blender. Blend until smooth. If you prefer things spicier, add your second chilli.
2. Add the mixture to a saucepan and simmer gently to thicken the sauce.
3. You can make your spicy sauce up to 2 days in advance. Just keep it in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
5. Peel your sweet potatoes and chop into 0.5cm thick slices. Pat them with paper towel to make sure they are dry.
6. Coat the sweet potato slices in cornflour, then the aquafaba, then the panko breadcrumbs. Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
7. Heat the bao buns as per their instructions. Fill the bao buns with slices of sweet potato and the spicy sauce. If you have any coriander, this is a tasty addition too.

You can find some great recipes for using up leftover aquafaba on the Oggs website.

Room for dessert?

If you’re after something sweet to finish with, Oggs have recently launched a new Mini Bites range. Choose from Chocolate Brownie and Millionaire Bites. They are 58kcals and 66kcals per bite, so you can lose the guilt too.

There are 9 bites in each pack and the pack is resealable, so you don’t have to finish them all in one go. I’ve tried both the brownie and shortbread and have to say, they are pretty irresistible. I had to stop myself eating them all in one sitting.

The brownies are soft and gooey, with a delicious fudgey flavour. They are as moist as fresh out of the oven brownies. I often find brownies a bit sickly but these are the perfect consistency and sweetness.

The millionaire bites were my favourite. The base is crumbly and delicate, while the caramel melts in the mouth. Topped with a crisp slab of chocolate, it’s a little bite of deliciousness.

As well as tasting delightful, they are made from completely animal-free ingredients. With 100% recycled plastic packaging that is also fully recyclable and biodegradable, that’s another win for the planet.

You can buy these little but mighty bites in Sainsburys and WHSmiths.

You might also be interested in this yummy recipe for vegan matcha cookies.