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char siu bao3

Soft And Juicy Char Siu Bao Bun

Making char siu bao at home is easy! Simply make the dough wrapper and stuff it with the char siu filling before steaming. Follow my step-by-step recipe for making popular dim sum char siu bao.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 8
Calories 814 kcal

Equipment

  • Mixing bowl for the dough
  • Wok or pan for stir-frying
  • Spatula for stir-frying
  • Mixing bowl for the dough
  • Knife or dough cutter
  • Dough rolling pin
  • Parchment paper
  • Steamer with cover
  • Kitchen weighing scale (optional)
  • Kitchen thermometer (optional)

Ingredients
  

Filling

  • 1000 g pork Boston butt
  • 180 g char siu sauce
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
  • 10 g rock sugar
  • Hot water for stir-frying
  • Corn starch slurry 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water - 1:2 ratio

Dough

  • 520 g warm water
  • 10 g sugar
  • 5 g yeast
  • 1000 g high-gluten flour
  • 1 teaspoon of lard

Instructions
 

Cook The Filling

  • Pick your desired pork meat and clean it.In my recipe, I use diced pork Boston butt.
  • Then, prepare a wok for stir-frying and add the diced pork meat.
  • Keep stir-frying until the fat melts and the meat turns brown.
  • Next, add char siu sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rock sugar.
  • Continue stir-frying until the sauces are well mixed into the meat. The meat should have a dark brown even color.
  • Afterward, pour hot water and cook for 15 minutes. It will start to boil and cook the meat thoroughly.
  • After 15 minutes, add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the filling. This makes the filling saucy and not too runny. If you like a juicy filling, avoid overcooking it or drying out the filling.
  • Let it cool on a plate and keep it in the fridge for an hour while you make the dough.I highly recommend refrigerating the filling to make the sauce thicker and well-incorporated.

Knead The Dough

  • In a bowl, mix warm water, sugar, and yeast powder.
  • Then, add high-gluten flour and lard.
  • Mix and knead the dough until you get a smooth consistency.Make sure to remove as many air bubbles as you can in the kneaded dough. Otherwise, the steamed bun will crumble because of too many air pockets in the dough.
  • Afterward, shape the dough into a long cylindrical dough.
  • Then, divide the dough into 60g portions using a knife or dough cutter.
  • Take each portion and flatten it with a rolling pin to make flat circular dough wrappers. I recommend making the center of the dough wrapper a bit thicker than the edges. This will make it stronger to hold the filling.

Combine The Dough Wrapper And Filling

  • Take your chilled filling and give it a good mix.The sauce should become thicker and less watery, making it easier to place in the dough wrapper.
  • Place the filling at the center of a dough wrapper.
  • Seal the dough by forming creases on the edges and pinching the top center. You can slightly twist it as you seal it to give you that traditional bao bun look.
  • Then, use parchment paper to place the bao buns on top for fermentation. Parchment paper is needed to prevent the buns from sticking to the surface which can break the bottom of the wrapper.
  • Let the bao buns ferment and become larger in size. It usually doubles in size after proofing.
  • Next, steam for 12 minutes while covered.
  • Lastly, enjoy a sweet and savory bun and serve it for snacks or a light lunch.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 814kcalCarbohydrates: 94gProtein: 38gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 133mgPotassium: 368mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 40IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 3mg
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