Siopao

A white steamed bun round a sweet soy pork filling, each one sitting on its own paper.

Pork. Not vegetarian — contains oyster sauce, pork.

Ingredients

dough

• 500 g plain flour
• 7 g fast-action yeast
• 60 g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 280 ml warm water
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

filling

• 600 g pork shoulder, in 1 cm dice
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 star anise
• 250 ml water
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 2 tablespoons oil

Method

1. A SQUARE OF PAPER UNDER EACH BUN, 8 cm across. Without it the bottom welds itself to the steamer and tears off when you lift it, and a torn bun leaks its filling into the water.
2. Filling first, and it must be cold before it is used. Fry the onion and garlic in the oil, 3 minutes; pork in, 5 minutes; soy, oyster sauce, sugar, star anise and water; simmer covered 40 minutes.
3. Fish the star anise out. Thicken with the cornflour slaked in a little cold water, 2 minutes, until it is thick enough to hold in a spoon. Cool completely, then chill. Warm filling melts the dough from the inside and the bun collapses in the steamer.
4. Dough: yeast, sugar and warm water, 10 minutes until frothy. Flour, salt, oil and the vinegar in. The vinegar is there for the colour -- it keeps the crumb white rather than letting it go ivory.
5. Knead 10 minutes to a smooth soft dough. Prove covered 1 hour at room temperature, until doubled.
6. Knock back and divide into 12. Roll each into a disc 12 cm across, thicker in the middle than at the rim.
7. A heaped tablespoon of cold filling in each. Gather the rim up in pleats, twist the top closed and pinch it off. Seam DOWN on its paper square.
8. Second prove 30 minutes, until puffy and slack to the touch.
9. Steam 15 minutes over a rolling boil, with a cloth under the lid to catch drips. Spots of condensation land as grey marks on a white bun.
10. Switch the heat off and wait 3 minutes before lifting the lid. The cold draught of a lid whipped off makes them wrinkle and sink.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Philippines · All recipes