Cha siu bao (叉燒包) recipe

This is not a steam bun recipe but rather baked. Here is the steamed bun recipe or part of it, that we used when making the beef bao. Rather, this is a baked bao recipe. However, you can use the roast pork filling with the above steamed bun recipe as well.

This is Nancy's recipe bun recipe. Nancy is my sous chef, for those new to this blog. And the filling and roast pork recipes are Kim's recipes. There they are all together to make cha siu bao (叉燒包), a childhood treat. If you want them plain, then just don't fill them. I just had a nice egg sandwich using the plain bao.

1/4 cup warm water
1 T sugar
1 1/2 T dry active yeast (1 commercial packet)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups bread flour
1 cup and 2 T milk warm
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup 1 T sugar
3 T unsalted butter softened
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 T water

2 eggs well beaten

Combine the water 1 T sugar and yeast and dissolve. Set aside some place warm to let bubble.

Stir the flours together. Combine the yeast mixture, warm milk the remainder of the sugar, butter and yolk mixture until well blended. Then stir the flour mixture into the result, one-half at a time and mix until you have a soft dough, about 3 mins. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm location. Let the dough rise for about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Turn the down out onto a floured cutting board and with a sharp knife divide the dough into 15 roughly equal pieces. Roll a piece of dough out onto piece of dough out a floured work surface to a 4-inch circle. Place 11/2 T of the pork filling in the center of the dough. Gather up the edges of the dough over the filling and twist them down to seal. Place the bun seam side down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat.

Brush tall exposed surfaces of the buns with the beaten eggs. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve warm if possible. They're also good cold or you can heat them up in the microwave in 20 seconds.

Cha siu bao (叉燒包) recipe -- Roast Pork Filling

Step two of the Cha Siu Bao recipe.

This is my wife's recipe and usually my sous chef Nancy make this for me. Last year we did steamed bao containing beef short ribs.

First roast the pork as directed. Then make the filling by combining the following ingredients with a whisk.

1/2 cup chicken broth
2 T oyster sauce
2 T ketchup
5 t granulated sugar
4 t cornstarch
1 T dark soy sauce
1/2 t salt
1/4 t white pepper

Then prep

1 small onion (diced 1/2 cup)
1T Shaoxing rice wine
11/2 sesame oil

Next mince the roast pork to make about 1 1/2 cups or 6 oz. Heat a wok or pan on high for 30 seconds and add peanut oil to coat. When it just starts smoking, add the onion and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until brown. Then add the wine. Stir well.

Pour in the sauce that make and stir until mixture thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Add the sesame oil and mix well. Refridgerate. The filling may be made in advance.

Cha siu bao (叉燒包) recipe -- The Roast Pork

This is for the roast pork you need to put inside the bun. This will make a lot of buns or you can use it as part of another dish.

Step one of the Cha Siu Bao recipe.

For the roast pork

1 2lb bonless pork loin roast
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup oyster sauce (you can pick this up at almost any supermarket or Chinese market)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (you can pick this up at almost any supermarket or Chinese market)
3 1/2 tbs double dark soy sauce. You can make this by reducing regular soy sauce by 1/2.
3 1/2 tbs regular soy sauce
3 tbs Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing)
1 2/4 tsp Chinese five-spice power
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Combine the honey, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing, double dark soy sauce, soy sauce, and the Chinese five spice powder, 1/2 tsp salt and a 1/4 tsp of ground white pepper in a bowl and power over the meat to coat well. Refridgerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Pre oven to 450F. But the meat on a baking sheet, line with foil if you wish, and bake. Spoon the marinade over the pork and roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 30-40 degrees. During the baking process, baste the meat from the pan at least 4 times.

Next, if you have a broiler, broil the meat until it has a char for flavor. About 2 mins. Let the pork cool and refrigerate until you are ready to use for the bao (bun) filling.