Baked Char Siu Bao (Baked Roast Pork Bun)

Char Siu (Char Siew) is a popular chinese roast pork often found in Chinese restaurants, eaten with rice or noodles. Personally I prefer Siew Yoke (Crispy Roast Pork) than Char Siu. I especially am not a fan of Char Siu if they are reddish in colour.



You are probably asking " What is she talking about?? Char Siu is reddish in colour!!!" Ok, precisely why I don't prefer it. Something about food coloring and extreme sweetness of the meat that is not to my liking but if I can find char siu which is baked and caramelized well to dark brownish...hmmm I prefer that a lot better. :)

The Char Siu I find here is Dallas are mostly reddish in colour. The taste is pretty ok but I would opt for "siew yoke" anytime. Just the other day, Hubby-D and I decided to order take-out of Siew Yoke for dinner, however as most Chinese Restaurant goes, Siew Yoke typically goes out by lunch time. Furthermore, it is better to order Siew yoke for lunch since it will be at its best, fresh and crispy out of the oven. Ok, no Siew Yoke so we order Char Siu instead. We only managed to finish half of the 1 lb portion so the next day, I decided to surprise Hubby-D with some baked Char Siu Bao.

We usually order this when we have dim sum so I thought it would be nice to attempt it at home and see how it turns out.

A quick search on the Internet and looking at various recipes, gave me a rough idea on how to make it.

Simple Ingredients :
Ingredient A : Char Siu Mix
1. 500gm of Char Siu (cut fine)
2. 1 large onion (Diced fine)
3. 1 TBSP of oyster sauce
4. 1 TBSP of Hoisin sauce
5. 1 TSP of Sesame oil
6. 1 TSP of light soy sauce
7. 1 TSP of dark soy sauce
8. 1 TBSP of Chinese Rice Wine
9. 1 TBSP of corn starch mixed in a bit of water

Ingredient B : Sweet Bun Dough Mix
1. 250gm of All Purpose Flour or Bread Flour
2. 7gm or 1 packet (1/4oz) Instant Yeast
3. 100gm of cold Water and 10gm of milk
4. 4gm of Salt
5. 50gm of Sugar
6. 1 Egg
7. 30gm of Butter (1/4 stick)

Simple Steps :
1. Dice Char Siu into small cubes and also dice the onion.



2. In a pan with a bit of oil, saute the diced onions first for 5 minutes. The add the char siu on top.



3. Add all the seasonings of oyster sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, chinese wine, light and dark soy sauce. Mix well and let it saute for 10 minutes in low heat until all ingredients are well mix. Add, a bit of water if your ingredients are too dry. Add corn starch mix last to thicken the sauce. Set it aside to cool.



4. For the sweet bun dough mix, add all the dry ingredient into mixer and mix on slow speed for 1 minute. Add eggs and water and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes. Add butter and mix for further 10 minutes on medium speed until dough if fully developed. Ferment for 1 hour until dough doubles in size.

5. Scale the dough into 8 - 10 pieces of ping pong sized balls (about 50 - 60gm)and round up with the palm of your hand on table.



6. Rest dough for 10 minutes and then flatten dough (edges flatter). Take a spoonful of filling and wrap onto dough. Turn upside down for smooth surface.



7. Place of baking tray and prove for 1 hour.. Brush eggs on the surface and bake at 350'F for 15 minutes until buns turn golden brown.

What do you think? :)