Char Sui Bao ( Chinese BBQ pork buns)

Char siu bao are Cantonese-style sweet barbecue pork buns. They usually have an almost cake-like bun and are very fluffy and sweet. Unlike most steamed buns, they are made with cake flour rather than bread flour to achieve that cake-like texture. These buns are a dim sim house staple and a street food favorite. I prefer my steamed buns to taste more like a bun rather than a cake, so I've come up with a bun recipe that keeps the light and fluffy texture of the original char siu bao, but with a regular bun-like texture and flavor.

Ingredient: 

Yields 2 people

For the bao (bun) 

1 1/2 ~ 2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 Cup warm water
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 Cup warm water

For the fillings

1/2 lb pork
1 Tbsp honey
2  tsp soy sauce
2 1/2  tsp oyster sauce
1 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spice
2 scallions
1 clove of garlic
1/2 onion
1 tsp corn starch
few Tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Direction: 

Start by dicing the pork into small pieces. When you choose your pork, try to get it some that has fat on it. This will give your bun a very juicy filling. Mix all of the filling ingredients (except the onion and corn starch) and add 1 Tbsp cold water. Marinate for an hour.

Mix the bun dough and knead it until smooth and elastic. Baking powder and baking soda seem like pretty unusual ingredients to put in the bun, but these two ingredients are what are going to make your bun light and fluffy and burst the top of the bun open. Let the buns rise in a warm, draft-free place for an hour or until they double in size.

In a sauté pan on medium low heat, cook the onion with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil until caramelized. Once the onion is caramelized, turn the heat on high and toss in the marinated pork. Cook until the pork is cooked through. Mix 1/8 C cold water with the corn starch in a separate bowl right before turning off the heat. Whisk in the corn starch mixture with the pork. This will thicken up the juice and keep the filling moist in the bun.

Once the dough has doubled in size, shape it into a log and cut it into 6 or 8 pieces. Roll the individual pieces into a round disk with the middle thicker than the edges.

Here's a tip to rolling out the buns: Roll your rolling pin back and forth with your other hand spinning the dough counter clock wise. Make sure the rolling pin is only touching the edges of the dough. By doing so, you will keep the middle of the dough thicker, which will hold your fillings together nicely. Keep doing the motion until you get a flat disk about the size of your palm.

Once the dough is rolled out, place about one table spoon full of filling in the middle of the dough and pinch to seal the buns together.

Steam the buns on high heat for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, turn the heat off and crack the lid of your steamer open slightly. Let the buns sit for five minutes.

The top of the buns will burst open. That is also one of the signatures of a good char siu bao. But since this isn't the original cake-like bun, it will not burst as dramatically as the original char siu bao.

Anytime I make or eat char siu bao, I think of the char siu bao song in the film God of Gamble II starring Stephan Chow: