Best Char Siu Bao Pork Buns Recipes

CHAR SIU BAO (PORK BUNS)

Steps:

• To make meat:.
• Combine marinade. Marinate pork at least 3 hours, or overnight.
• Cooking methods:.
• a) place meat on a roasting pan with a rack -- with the pan below filled with water and roast at 350 F until done (turn over half way through) OR.
• b) cook in a crock pot with 3 cups of water for 1 hour on high and then 7 hours on low or until it flakes apart (this is the method I have used) OR.
• c) you could try grilling or broiling the meat, but it might lack some of the moisture that the other two methods will give you.
• To make filling:.
• Sauté ginger in hot peanut oil, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and mix with hoisin, chili paste, green onions and meat. Let cool.
• To make dough:.
• Mix yeast, sugar and warm water; let proof (sit and rise) for about 10 minutes.
• Place flours and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, if available. (This can also be done by hand).
• Add yeast mixture. Knead until homogeneous and dough forms a ball.
• Let rise in a cool place to minimize air bubbles, about 15 minutes.
• Portion dough into 16 balls, flatten them, and place a small amount of filling into the center of each.
• Pinch back to close and form a ball shape.
• Place balls on lightly oiled piece of parchment or waxed paper (oiled plastic wrap would probably work too). Let proof 15 minutes, or until double in size.
• Place in a covered steamer, and cook for 8-10 minutes.
• Eat now or cool completely and freeze in ziplock bags (to reheat: steam 10 minutes).
• Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

CHAR SIU BAO (PORK BUNS)

Steps:

• 1. Trim fat from the pork, and cut pork into strips.
• 2. Create a marinade using all ingredients except for the meat and vegetables. Thoroughly coat the pork in the marinade, and refrigerate in a sealed container for at least an hour.
• 3. Add yeast, sugar, and warm water to a mixing bowl. Allow to proof until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• 4. Using a mixer equipped with dough hooks, gradually blend the flour, cornstarch, and salt into the yeast mixture on low speed. Continue blending until mixture looks shaggy in appearance.
• 5. Knead dough by hand until there are no dry spots. Spray inside of mixing bowl with cooking spray and roll the dough to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.
• 6. While the dough is rising, heat a pan to mediunm-high, and cook marinaded pork for a few minutes, reserving some of the marinade from the container. Pork will contunue to cook in remaining steps, so don't worry about doneness.
• 7. Add chopped vegetables and the rest of the marinade to the pan, and heat while stirring thoroughly.
• 8. Remove pork and vegetables from pan and allow to cool in refrigerator while preparing the dough.
• 9. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, and roll each into a ball. As you roll out each ball, cover the remaining dough to keep it from drying out.
• 10. Flatten one dough ball into a disc that's about 5 inches across. Add 1/8 of the pork and vegetable mixture to the middle of the disc. Pull up the edges of the disc in a fan-fold pattern as you close up the filling. Pinch together the dough to there are no openings.
• 11. If using a rice cooker, place a square of parchment paper to cover the holes. Arrange the pork buns, seam-side down, in the steamer so there's an inch of space between them. They will expand in the steamer, so this will avoid them sticking together.
• 12. Steam pork buns for 10 minutes, or until the dough seems to be set. Remove pork buns from steamer by inverting the steamer onto a plate: removing them individually can cause parts of the surface to break, since the dough will still be somewhat sticky. Repeat for remaining pork buns.
• 13. Refrigerate pork puns with a layer of parchment paper between them so they don't stick together.