Steamed Char Siu Bun

Success! Success! Success! I made steamed Char Siu Bun from scratch.

Two years ago, when I was in Australia visiting, I told my 2nd younger sister I can make Pao. She was amazed, however, after half a day of labor, she was disappointed with the Pao that I made. She told me that it did not taste like the Pao from Dim Sum Restaurant.

Two years later, after many failures, I have discovered the secret to making light, fluffy and delicate with delicious flavor char siu buns.

 

Char Shao Pao 叉燒包

 

 

This recipe is complicated because you need to prepare a dough starter. To make the dough starter you need to save a small piece of simple dough and let it stand overnight in the refrigerator until it becomes sour. The dough starter can be kept for one week in the refrigerator.

Char Siu Bun filling (makes about 24).
1 lb roasted pork
mix slightly less than 1 cup water with 1 1/2 T each: sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce
mix 2 T cornstarch with 2 1/2 T water
2 T lard (which I omitted)
1 1/2 t sesame oil
1/4 t pepper
Cut the cooked roasted pork into 1/4″ cubes. Bring the soy sauce mixture to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture to thicken. Add sesame oil and pepper. Let the mixture cool. Add the pork and mix well.

 

Recipe adapted from Chinese Snacks by Huang Su-Huei.

Simple Dough Recipe
6 cup flour (all purpose flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup warm water
1 T yeast
1 T baking powder
2 T shortening

I used my bread machine to make this dough. But you can make the dough without using the bread machine. Results will be the same. The first step in making any “yeasty” dough is the yeast itself. Check the expiration date on the yeast. If the yeast is not expired, dissolve the sugar in a warm water and the add the yeast. After 10 minutes, if the yeast becomes foamy and floats to the top, the chances of your dough rising is high. If the yeast does not become foamy and float to the top, your yeast is not active. Perhaps the water you used is too hot or too cold. Do not proceed further until you are sure the yeast you are using is active.

If you are using bread machine, just throw all the ingredients into the bread pan, choose the dough setting and push the start button, after 3 hours or so, when the machine beeps, the dough has risen and is ready for use.

If you are kneading the dough by hand, put all the ingredients in a bowl and knead the dough until smooth and elastic. I read somewhere that if you touch the dough and it feels like a baby’s bottom, it is ready. Cover the kneaded dough with a sheet of plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for about two hours until it has tripled in bulk.

To make the dough starter, after the dough tripled in size, save a piece of dough about 4 oz. Wrap the small piece of 4 oz dough in a plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator.

If you are not a picky like my sister, you can use the remainder dough to make buns. The dough is not as light and fluffy but it is still delicious. The following photo shows how to wrap a pao. I used the left-over filling from Siew Pao.

Roll the dough into a long roll and cut it into 24 pieces; Flatten each piece with the palm of the hand to form a thin circle. Place one portion of the filling on the center of a dough circle. Wrap the dough to enclose the filling. Shape the dough circle by pleating and pinching the edges to form the bun. Make the other buns in the same manner. Let the buns stand for 10 minutes then steam them for 12 minutes. Remove and serve.

 

 

If you have extra dough, you can make Peanut Butter Flower Rolls.

 

 

Now, once your dough starter turns sour after a night in the refrigerator, you are ready to make the fluffy Dim Sum Char Siu Buns. Here is the recipe:
Dissolve 4 oz dough starter with 3/4 cup water and add 2 cup flour. After kneading, place the dough in a bowl and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 8 hours or until it has doubled or tripled in size. I used the bread machine to knead and to keep warm.

After the dough has doubled or tripled in size, prepare the following dough with 1 t baking soda, 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 T shortening, 3 cup flour (use less if you feel the air surrounding you is dry, I always use less flour and add a little by little if needed), 1 T baking powder. Combine these two doughs and knead until smooth and elastic. I also used the bread machine for this step. Since the bread machine is still on, you have to push the stop button first. I left the original dough in the bread machine, added the rest of the ingredients (baking soda, water, sugar, shortening, flour and baking powder) into the bread machine, choose the dough setting and push the start button.

Roll the dough into a long roll and cut it into 24 pieces; Flatten each piece with the palm of the hand to form a thin circle. Place one portion of the filling on the center of a dough circle. Wrap the dough to enclose the filling. Shape the dough circle by pleating and pinching the edges to form the bun. Make the other buns in the same manner. Let the buns stand for 10 minutes then steam them for 12 minutes. Remove and serve.

If you leave more than 30 minutes, the dough will be over risen and dough may shrink after steaming.

Lee Ping’s notes: (1) For health reasons, I used unbleached flour, so the bun looks a little off-white. (2) Also, I use bamboo steamer lined with parchment paper. Bamboo steamer is good for steaming buns because the water from condensation is absorbed by the bamboo and not dripped back to the bun during the steaming process. (3) If you find that during your kneading, the dough is too dry and you add water, make sure you knead it well. Otherwise, your bun will look like a face with tiny pimple holes (mo peng in Hokkein Language). (4) If your dough smells sour, a little baking soda (less than 1/4 tsp) will neutralize the sourness.