I first tasted these steamed buns in a Chinese restaurant more than 20 years ago and was determined to make them ... ONE DAY.
That day has finally come.
I started out wanting to try the
Mantou (Chinese steamed bun) recipe on the
"Sprinkles and Sprouts" blog, but then I decided that if I was going to make the steamed dough, I might as well go all the way and make the steamed bbq'd pork buns. Yesterday, I made a batch of Chinese bbq'd pork (char siu), FINALLY cleaned and prepped my brand new bamboo steamer and tested the steamer set-up. And, this morning, after two cups of coffee and a green scallion pancake with sourdough starter to fortify me and put me in the mood for cooking Chinese food, I made these beauties.
Be sure to remove and cut open one of the buns to make sure your particular steaming temp/time has cooked them through
I'd probably make two changes if/when I make these again. First, I'd add a bit more sugar to the dough (25 g / 2 tbsp, increase to 37.5 g/ 3 tbsp) as the ones I'm familiar with have a sweeter taste. And, second, I'd make them a bit smaller (70-75 g, reduce to 50 g) cause they crowded my steamer when done. I don't know if that's why they also took longer to steam than expected. The finished buns were about 9 cm/ 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
Cha-Shu Pork/Char Siu Pork/Chinese BBQ'd Pork
2 lbs boneless center cut pork loin (Boston Butt preferred)**
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
1 1/2 tbsp mirin (rice wine)
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp 5-spice powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp finely minced garlic (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
1/4 tsp dried onion powder (new)
1/2 tsp dried ginger
** I only had about 0.7 lb (320 gm) of pork loin but I used the full recipe of marinade.
Remove most of the fat and gristle from the pork loin and discard. Cut meat with grain into strips about 1 1/2-2 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Combine hoisin sauce, shoyu, mirin, sugar, salt, ketchup, 5-spice powder, ginger, garlic and onion powder in a bowl. Add meat. Coat well. Marinate at least 4 hours, or overnight.
If intending to baste with the marinade you used for the raw pork, pour it into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, cooking 2-3 minutes at a full rolling boil.
Barbecue until just barely done as carry-over cooking time will continue the process or broil in the oven.
Broiler Method:
Turn on the broiler.
Raise the oven rack to the middle of the oven (3 shelves) or to the 2nd level from the top if you have a 4 shelf oven.
Arrange the pork on a rack on a cookie sheet. If you want to reduce the mess, line the cookie sheet with foil (and also put foil on the rack, using a knife to cut through the foil where the openings in the rack are so the juices and marinade can drip through onto the pan). Pour about 1 cup of water into the cookie sheet or broiler pan. It's not guaranteed to be entirely mess free, but it should reduce the mess significantly.
Prop the door of the oven open with a wooden spoon. Broil for 10-15 minutes per side or until the meat is barely cooked through and the outside edges have charred a bit.
For the filling:
Pour the marinade from the bbq'd pork into a saucepan, bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove some to a separate bowl and use it to baste the pork on each side.
Combine the rest of the cooked marinade with the cooled diced pork, a couple of tablespoons of water, 2 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp hoisin sauce, a pinch of white pepper and 2 sliced green onions and cook at medium-low for a couple of minutes. Then cool.
Mantou/Bao Dough and Finished Buns