Chinese Pork Buns Cha Siu Bao Recipes

CHAR SIU BAO RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan or wok, sauté the onion for 1 to 2 minutes until soft and transparent. Add the diced chicken breast meat and sauté until the chicken is cooked.
• Add the remaining ingredients. Stir and cook until the gravy thickens.
• Transfer to a plate and let it cool.
• Dissolve the dry yeast in water.
• Add 200g of pao flour and icing sugar. Mix well and cover for an hour.
• Add the ingredients under the title 'Other ingredients of the dough' into the starter mixture and knead for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Cover the dough with a piece of damp cloth and let it proves for 30 minutes, or until the size has doubled.
• Divide the dough into 50g portions. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
• Flatten the dough with a rolling pin to form a circle of 8-10 cm in diameter. Place 30g of filling in the middle, wrap and pleat the dough to seal. Place it on a 1.5 inches (4cm) square baking paper, sealed side up. Rest for 15 minutes before steaming.
• Place the Char Siu Pao in a steamer, leave about 2-3 cm gap in between each Char Siu Pao. Steam in a preheated steamer on high heat for 8 minutes.
• Remove the Char Siu Pao immediately from the steamer and cool them on a rack to prevent the bottom of the Char Siu Pao from becoming soggy.

CHINESE PORK BUNS (CHA SIU BAO)

Steps:

• Dissolve 1/4 cup sugar in 1 3/4 cups warm water, and then add the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until mixture is frothy. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons shortening and the yeast mixture; mix well.
• Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a greased bowl, and cover it with a sheet of cling wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has tripled in bulk.
• Cut the pork into 2 inch thick strips. Use fork to prick it all over. Marinate for 5 hours in a mixture made with 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, and 1 teaspoon sweet soy sauce. Grill the pork until cooked and charred. Cut roasted port into 1/2 inch cubes.
• Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, oyster sauce, and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Mix cornstarch with 2 1/2 tablespoons water; add to the saucepan, and stir until thickened. Mix in 2 tablespoons lard or shortening, sesame oil, and white pepper. Cool, and mix in the roasted pork.
• Remove the dough from the bowl, and knead it on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth and elastic. Roll the dough into a long roll, and divide it into 24 pieces. Flatten each piece with the palm of the hand to form a thin circle. The center of the circle should be thicker than the edge. Place one portion of the pork filling in the center of each dough circle. Wrap the dough to enclose the filling. Pinch edges to form the bun. Let the buns stand for 10 minutes.
• Steam buns for 12 minutes. Serve.

BAKED PORK BUN (CHAR SIU BAO)

Steps:

• For the marinade: Mix the chicken base, soy sauce, sugar, food coloring, salt and pepper in a bowl. Cut pork in half horizontally to make two long, flat thin pieces (for better flavor penetration). Put the pork in a stainproof container or resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Marinate 20 minutes in the fridge.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a rack on top. Remove pork from the marinade and place on rack. Roast, about 45 minutes. Let pork rest for 10 minutes, then dice.
• For the dough: Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, butter, yeast, egg and 1/2 cup warm water in a mixing bowl and blend for 10 minutes. Let sit for 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut twelve 3-inch pieces of wax paper and set aside.
• Roll dough by hand into a cylinder with a 1 1/4-inch diameter. Cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten into a 3-inch pancake.
• Add some pork to the center of a pancake, then fold the edges of the dough over the pork and bring together. Repeat with remaining pancakes and pork, placing completed buns on squares of wax paper.
• Place completed filled buns on waxed paper and brush tops with mayonnaise and condensed milk. Bake, about 15 minutes.

CHA SIU BAO (SWEET BARBECUE PORK BUNS)

Steps:

• You can use my recipe for char siu (#34265) or make it with a mix- both powdered and liquid mixes are available at Asian food stores.
• I like the Noh brand, personally.
• Chop the char siu and mushrooms finely.
• Combine the water and cornstarch and stir into the char siu and mushrooms.
• Add salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, and sugar, and add enough food coloring to color the mixture a bright red.
• Heat the oil and lightly cook the garlic, then add the rest of the filling mixture and cook until thick.
• To make the bao dough, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Combine water with salt, milk and oil; stir in flour.
• Knead 5-10 minutes or until dough is smooth.
• Divide dough into 8 even balls.
• Press a cavity into each ball, and spread the ball into a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick cup.
• Fill the cup with 1/8 of the filling mixture, and press the edges closed to seal the bao.
• Cut waxed paper in 4-5 inch squares and place each bao on a piece of paper, sealed side down.
• Place bao in a steamer basket, cover, and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Bring the water under the steamer to a boil and steam bao for 10 minutes.

CHINESE BARBECUED PORK BUN (CHA SIU BOW)

Steps:

• Mix together the warm water, 1/2 teaspoons sugar and yeast in an 8 oz. measuring cup. Let stand until it rises to the 8 oz. level (about 20 minutes).
• Sift flour, cake flour, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add shortening, yeast mixture and milk. Knead mixture 5 minutes to form a dough.
• Cover with a damp cloth and set dough in a warm place. Allow the dough to rise for 3 hours.
• Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan and stir-fry pork for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water, salt, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce. Bring it to a boil.
• Mix the cornstarch and 4 tablespoons cold water. Stir into the mixture and cook for 1 minute until thickened. Let cool before making the buns.
• After 3 hours, when the dough has risen, shape into rolls about 2 inches in diameter. Cut each roll into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Shape each piece into a shallow bowl shape. Put 1 tablespoon filling in the center, close and twist dough to form a bun.
• Put the bun on a 2 inch square of white paper. (This prevents the bun from becoming soggy while steaming.) Place 8 buns at a time in a pie pan and allow them to set and rise for 15 minutes in a warm place.
• Steam for 25 minutes.