CHAR SIU AND CHAR SIU BAO

Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Siu Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Siu, and filling from scratch – delicious!  When I saw this month’s challenge I was really happy as I had already made Char Siu once and we had all liked it, so I knew this month’s recipe would be a winner in our house.  And was it ever!  The Char Siu pork itself was very good, even though I could not find pork fillet and ended up making it with pork loin… it was still very juicy, but I am sure fillet would have been even better.  What the whole family was very impressed with though was the Char Siu Bao!  We had never eaten Chinese pork buns before and we fell in love!  The dough is an absolute keeper (I can already see myself using it with sooo many different fillings!), soft, sweet, crumbly… YUM!  And the filling is oh so good too.  I can tell you, even my very fussy 4 year old loved it!  Sara provided us with different recipes and cooking methods (including the method to make steamed Char Siu Bao).  I am posting only the ones I actually made, but if you want to see all the options, click here.  I am so happy I joined the Daring Cooks as I am discovering so many great recipes and food I would have never thought to make at home!  Thanks Sara from Belly Rumbles for such an amazing challenge!  So, there you have it: my take on Char Siu and Char Siu Bao!

For Char Siu (Cantonese BBQ Pork)

Recipe adapted from the Daring Cooks

Ingredients:
1 pork fillet/tenderloin (roughly 1-1.5 pounds) (I used pork loin)

1 teaspoon (6 gm) salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon (3 gm) ground white pepper
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) sugar
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine (I used dry sherry)
1 teaspoon (3 gm) five spice
(1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)

Trim the pork loin to remove the fat and cut it in half (I cut mine in 3 pieces as my pork loin was a bit bigger). Place them in the container that you will be marinating them in.

Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Cover the pork well with ⅔ of the marinade mixture. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight (like I did).

Place the remaining ⅓ portion of the marinade in the fridge. You will use this to baste the pork when cooking it.

Sara provided us with 3 methods of cooking Char Siu.  I would have loved to try the BBQ method, but it has been raining a lot lately, so I chose the “Seared in pan & then into the oven” cooking method and it worked out great: the pork was moist and juicy and nicely charred!

Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C/350°F/gas mark 4.  Cover a baking tray with foil or baking paper.  On top of this, place a rack on which to cook the pork.

Place the pork in a hot frying pan or wok with a drizzle of vegetable oil. Sear it quickly so it is well browned on all sides.

Remove from pan/wok and place the pork on the rack.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes, basting and turning until cooked through.

Slice it and serve it like this or use for the Char Siu Bao‘s filling.

For the Baked Char Siu Bao (Cantonese BBQ Pork Bun)

Recipe adapted from the Daring Cooks

Ingredients (makes 12 buns):

Filling
350 gm (12 oz) Char Siu (finely diced)
2 green onions/spring onions (finely sliced)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup (60 ml) chicken stock
1 teaspoon (2 gm) cornflour
½ tablespoon vegetable oil
(1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)

Dough
2½ teaspoons (8 gm/1 satchel) of dried yeast
¼ cup (55 gm/2 oz) sugar
½ cup warm water
2 cups (280 gm/10 oz) plain flour
1 egg (medium size – slightly beaten)
3 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon (3 gm) salt
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with a dash of water
(1 cup=240 ml, 1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)

Start by preparing the filling.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or pan.  Add the diced Char Siu and stir, then add the spring onions and cook for 1 minute (1).  Add the hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce and sesame oil to the pork mixture (2) and stir fry for one minute (3).  Mix the cornflour and stock together (4) and then add it to the pork mixture (5).  Stir well and keep cooking until the mixture thickens (this will take 1 or 2 minutes) (6).

Remove the mixture from the pan and place it in a bowl to cool down.  Set aside until ready to use.

Now you can make the buns.

Place the sugar and warm water in a bowl, mix until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the yeast and leave it for 10 – 15 minutes or until it becomes frothy.

Sift the flour into the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook.  Add the yeast mixture, egg, oil and salt and knead for a few minutes (NOTE: I had to add more flour… if you need to, just add it little by little until your dough comes together.  It has to be soft and smooth but not sticky).

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a damp cloth.  Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 to 2 hours.

Once the dough has doubled in size, divide it into 12 portions. Shape them into round balls.

Roll them out with the palm of your hand to approximately 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter (1). Then pick each piece of dough up and gently pull the edges to enlarge it to about 8 cm (3 inches) in diameter (2).  By doing this the dough will remain slightly thicker in the centre. This will prevent your buns from cracking on the top while baking.  Place a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre of the dough circle (3). Then gather the edges and seal your bun (4).

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