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).
Place the bun’s sealed side down on your baking tray (5). Continue with the rest of the dough. Then brush the surface of the buns with egg wash (6).
Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 180˚C/350°F/gas mark 4 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
To see all my fellow Daring Cooks posts… click here.
Great recipe to try! Your buns look like they turned out as good, if not better than any I’ve tried in a restaurant!
I am so glad you enjoyed the challenge. Your pork and buns look glorious.
Char siu is one of my favorite things to eat. Just as addicting as bacon in my book! I’m so impressed that you’ve not only made it but the pork buns, too, that look like the real deal.
Fabulous job. They look terrific. I’m adding to pinterest.
Looks amazing! I fell in love with bao zi in CHina this summer, but I haven’t had a char siu version yet.
It’s great that you had time to do this challenge with your parents visiting. The pork looks equally as tasty as Sawsan’s chicken. I see you chose to bake them as well, I’d love to see what they look like steamed! Congrats on the successful challenge Manu.
hey manuela! it’s interesting that you chose to bake the buns and add an egg to the dough. my siopao (what we call the bao/buns) doesn’t require eggs and we steam it, and I hope you can try this method as well because the buns are really pillowy soft, perfect for almost any savory filling! 😀 here’s the recipe: http://thehungrygiant.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/the-alchemy-of-siopao/ i might use your char siu recipe next time, i’ve never tried making char siu from scratch before. 😀 cheers!
Hi Gio! 🙂 This was my first attempt at Chinese buns… I had no idea how to make them! So I just followed the recipe provided for the challenge at the Daring Cooks. While making the dough I found it way too soft so I had to add much more flour than required by the recipe… so not adding the egg actually makes sense! I will definitely try out your recipe the next time I make them! Thanks so much for the comment! 🙂 Have a great day!
I am so happy you posted this..I love this recipe, and the method. Very well done..hey I have the same black plates..well only few as I am freak buying 2 of each, or even one just for presentations:)))) LOVE your photos, mouthwatering!!!
LOL Sandra… your comment made me smile! I actually have only 1 of those plates… hehehehe Since I started blogging, I too buy things just for the presentation! 😉
I just died and went to heaven.
Ok, its 10:30 am in this side of the planet, and now I feel hungry…know why? The pork looks splendid, with that golden look that makes me want to eat it…and the Bao…oh…just perfect, I’m imagine eating eat just baked.
These look divine, dear Manu! 🙂
Wow, these look fantastic, great photos too!
Wow looks so simple and easy to make. They also look very yummy.
got my char siu marinating as we speak, nn vedo l’ora di assaggiarla!
In Italy it is very difficult to find char siu bao and as I have char siu in my freezer I could try to make the dough and see how it turns out. The bao looks so delicious in this post!!
These look mouthwatering! So delicious. You did a wonderful job and I just love your beautiful photos!
That looks amazing. I have been cooking avery different Char Siu recipe over the years. It involves using fermented bean curd cheese as one of the ingredients. Also, the pork steak is cooked in a very, very hot oven for only 12 minutes. It is wonderful hot or cold. I think I will post it for Chinese New Year on the 23rd of the month.
Happy New Year
Conor