Partial Ingredients

Everyday Style & Recipes. Est. 2010

Char Siu Bao (Chinese BBQ Pork Buns)

by

 

Now that I had the Char Siu ready to go, I could now make the bao! Char Siu Bao are little dumplings that are stuffed with pork, chicken, or eggs.  BBQ pork is the most common filing used in the buns, and can be either steamed or baked.  I actually tried both ways but I ended up preferring the steaming method. They turned out softer and had a more dumpling-like consistency.

This recipe involves quite a bit of time and work.  It takes a little creativity as well if you don’t own a steamer.  It was all worth it because they turned out so tasty! John and I were immediately hooked on them. I had never worked with yeast before and that turned out to be a time consuming, but fairly easy part of the process. You just have to wait a while for the yeast to rise, so I made the dough and formed the buns the night before to save time. The buns were great dipped in a little soy and hoisin sauce, and topped with fresh green onions.


Char Siu Bao (Chinese BBQ Pork Buns)
(Makes 12 buns, or 4 servings)
Printable Version

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 Cups Char Siu, chopped finely
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon Chinese five spice
  • 1 batch dough (see below)

Directions:

  1. In a bowl, mix the char siu, green onions, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and Chinese five spice.
  2. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 12 equally sized pieces.
  3. Roll each piece into a ball, flatten and place a tablespoon of filling into the center.
  4. Wrap the filling by pressing and pulling the edges of the dough. Gather and pull the edges up and twist the top to fully cover the filling.
  5. Place the balls on squares of wax paper, cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
  6. **If you don’t own a steamer, line a collander with 2 small squares of tin foil. Place 2 buns onto the tin foil, making sure that the buns aren’t touching (creating a little wall of tin foil works well). Fill a saucepan 1/4 way full with water and bring to a boil. Place the collander in the pan and cover, and steam for about 20 minutes.
  7. If you DO have a steamer: Place the balls into a steamer, without touching each other, and steam for 10 minutes.

Char Siu Bao Dough
(makes 12 buns)
Printable Version

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup water (lukewarm)
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup cake flour or 3/4 cup flour -2 tablespoons
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 cup water (lukewarm)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

  1. Mix the water, flour, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes.
  2. Add the flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and oil.
  3. Mix while slowly pouring in the water until it just forms a dough.
  4. Knead the dough until smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
  5. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 3-4 hours.
  6. Sprinkle the baking powder over the dough and knead it well.

Dipping Sauce
(Makes 6 Tablespoons)
Printable Version

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp green onion, chopped

Directions:

  1. Mix all ingredients together.