Chinese PastryDessert

Jade Cucumber Vegetable Buns — Clean Carbs That Sit Easy

Name: Jade Cucumber Vegetable Buns
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: about 14–16 buns (1½ oz / 40 g pieces)
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour; ⅔ cup (160 ml) water; 1 tsp (3 g) instant yeast; 2 tsp (10 g) lard; ¼ tsp (1 g) baking soda; 1½ oz (45 g) cucumber peel; 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) cucumber; 3½ oz (100 g) carrot; 4 eggs; sesame oil; salt, and a little MSG, to taste; black pepper, to taste

2026-07-02

By Vivian

Clean carbs that sit easy — a new way with cucumber, made for summer

Why You'll Love It

As the days get hotter I only want food that feels fresh.
Summer buns should be exactly like this: light and clean, soft and fine-crumbed, every bite full of cool cucumber aroma.
Just looking at that green opens your appetite.
The wrapper is soft and tender with a light cucumber scent, and the filling is fresh and crisp.

The dough is kneaded with cucumber juice, so it smells faintly of cucumber and looks beautiful. The filling is shredded cucumber with scrambled egg and carrot — clean and crisp, with egg and a hint of cucumber in every bite. You can eat two without feeling heavy.

This kind of clean carb is easy on the stomach and just right for summer. Vegetable buns are low in fat and calories, so they work as a staple even when you're cutting back — no guilt at all.

Ingredients

Wrapper
2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour	⅔ cup (160 ml) water
1 tsp (3 g) instant yeast	2 tsp (10 g) lard
¼ tsp (1 g) baking soda	1½ oz (45 g) cucumber peel

Cucumber Filling
1 lb 2 oz (500 g) cucumber	3½ oz (100 g) carrot
4 eggs	sesame oil, salt, and a little MSG, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Ingredient Notes

Use only the green peel for the juice and save the flesh for the filling — nothing goes to waste. Pick cucumbers with thick, dark green skin.
That ¼ tsp (1 g) of baking soda is what keeps the color vivid green. More than that and you'll taste alkali.
Lard makes the wrapper whiter and softer; corn oil works if you don't have it.
Scramble the eggs fairly fine — big pieces poke holes in the wrapper when you pleat.
Give the carrot a quick stir-fry first: the beta-carotene absorbs better and it releases less water later.

Instructions

1

Start with the filling: shred the cucumber, toss with a spoonful of salt and leave it 20 minutes, then squeeze it bone dry. Shred the carrot finely and give it a quick stir-fry in a little oil, then take it out. Beat the eggs and scramble them in oil until broken up and dry.
2

Tip everything into a bowl, add salt, a little MSG, black pepper, and a spoonful of sesame oil, and mix well.
Chill it briefly if you like — cold filling releases less water while you wrap.
3

Take only the green peel: blend 1½ oz (45 g) cucumber peel with ⅔ cup (160 ml) water and ¼ tsp (1 g) baking soda until smooth.
The baking soda sets the color so the steamed wrappers stay green instead of turning olive. Skip it if you don't have any.
4

Pour the cucumber juice into the flour, add the yeast and lard, and knead everything into a smooth dough.
5

Knead until the surface is smooth and no longer sticky.
Cover and let it rise until doubled — a finger poked into it should leave a hole that doesn't spring back.
6

Turn the dough out, dust with flour and knead well to deflate, then roll into a log and divide into pieces of about 1½ oz (40 g).
7

Roll each piece into a round wrapper that's thick in the middle and thin at the edges, add filling, and pinch the pleats closed tightly.
8

Let the shaped buns rise again to 1½ times. Start with cold water, steam 13 minutes once it boils, then turn off the heat and wait 2 minutes before opening.
9

The wrapper is soft and fine, with a light cucumber scent, and the green is as refreshing to look at as it is to eat. The cucumber in the filling still has a bit of crunch. Everything together is clean and delicious.
10

Perfect for summer — your mouth feels clean afterward, nothing like a fatty pork bun that needs tea to wash it down. Swap the filling however you like; spicy-sour potato shreds are excellent in these too.

Recipe Notes