I am so excited to share this delicious Thai recipe with you today! I grew up eating Thai steamed buns daily, and they are so stinking good. And only recently did I discover that the bun part is actually Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits–crazy! I always thought it was some crazy hard dough recipe, so I just waited for my mom to make them for me rather than asking how to make them!
A wonderful memory these delicious steamed buns brings back is when my husband and I first started dating. We were at my mom’s house for another fantastic home-cooked Thai meal, and my mom presented these beauties to him. She told him what they were called, what was in them, and he dove in head first. I remember later that night, he told me he loved those sobracobras. And I said, “Um, come again? The what?” He said, “Those sobracobras. Those steamed bun things with meat and egg.” I about died. I said, “Oh! You mean the salapaws!”
I hope you enjoy this recipe for Thai steamed buns or salapaws, aka sobracobras–they are delicious and will not last long!

Savoury Thai Steamed Buns Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup ground pork (minced pork)
¼ cup yellow onion - chopped
¼ cup bamboo shoots - diced
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cilantro (coriander) - minced
2 medium hardboiled eggs - cut into 10 pieces each
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
- Stir-fry the onion, ground pork, bamboo shoots and dried black mushrooms for 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, salt, pepper and coriander and mix well.
- Spoon into a bowl and allow to cool.
- Flatten the biscuit dough and shape it into small cups and fill with the pork mixture.
- Top with a slice of hard-boiled egg.
- Shape into balls and pinch the tops together to create a seal.
- Place buns onto waxed paper and arrange them in a steamer.
- Steam for 10 minutes.