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I grew up eating bao or as we call it in Malaysia pao. We’d wait for the pao man to come around midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. My favourite is Char Siu Pao. This is the dumpling with sweet pork filling. I’ve made it a few times in Malaysia, but we’d buy it most of the time. When I found it in the Chinese store in Mississauga a few years ago I was excited to take a huge bite into it, but I was disappointed with the taste, so I decided to make it again; and I’ve been making it ever since.<\/p>\n
If you are into baking, making bao should be simple. These baos can be steamed or fried. I like to use the bread machine to mix and rise the dough. Go ahead and use your hands or mixing bowl. You’re good as long as you get a smooth dough ball that comes together.<\/p>\n
In this post I’ll be tackling:<\/p>\n
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- the dough<\/li>\n
- the meat ( it can be bought)<\/li>\n
- the filling<\/li>\n
- five spice powder<\/li>\n
- making the bao<\/li>\n
- and some tips<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Dough \u2013 in bread machine order<\/em><\/h3>\n
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- 1\u00a01<\/sup>\u20444 <\/sub>cups warm water<\/li>\n
- 2 tbsp oil<\/li>\n
- 2 tbsp sugar<\/li>\n
- 1 pinch salt<\/li>\n
- 3 cups flour plus 1 cup corn starch\/or bao flour (wheat starch\/Hong Kong flour)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If you can, try to get the flour below. The red pack is the bao flour.<\/p>\n
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This one below is wheat starch. You need only use one cup of this flour to 3 cups of normal flour.<\/p>\n
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- 2 tsp\u00a0active dry yeast<\/li>\n
- 12-15 cupcake paper molds flattened or coffee filter<\/li>\n
- steamer<\/li>\n
- \u00bc cup vinegar mixed into the steamwater<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Marinade for the meat<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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- 10 by 3 (approx.) inches pork tenderloin<\/li>\n
- 4 \u00a0minced garlic<\/li>\n
- 1 tbsp ginger minced<\/li>\n
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce<\/li>\n
- 3 tablespoons honey<\/li>\n
- 2 tablespoons sugar<\/li>\n
- 2 tablespoons Shao Xing wine<\/li>\n
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce<\/li>\n
- 2 tbsp molasses<\/li>\n
- 2 cups water<\/li>\n
- 1 teaspoon of 5 spice powder (recipe below)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Method:<\/p>\n
Mix all the ingredients and marinade the meat overnight.<\/p>\n
Roast the meat in the oven at 120\u00b0 C for 2-3 hours until the meat is cooked. Turn the meat every half hour.<\/p>\n
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Five spice powder <\/strong><\/em>(this is plenty, store and use the rest for later)<\/h3>\n
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Ingredients:<\/p>\n
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- 3 tsp Scehzuan peppercorns powder (don’t use regular peppers, it’s not the same)<\/li>\n
- 3 tbsp ground star anise powder<\/li>\n
- 1 tsp ground clove powder<\/li>\n
- 1 tbsp cinnamon powder<\/li>\n
- 1 tbsp fennel powder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
(or\u00a0 use whole spices and grind them fine)<\/p>\n
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Filling<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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- The chopped Char siu meat<\/li>\n
- 1 small white onion chopped<\/li>\n
- 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with a little water<\/li>\n
- 1 tbsp sugar<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Method:<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
Heat some oil, add the onion, sugar and chopped cooked meat.<\/p>\n
Add the cornstarch to thicken the filling. Let it cook a bit and it’s ready for filling.<\/p>\n
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- 1\u00a01<\/sup>\u20444 <\/sub>cups warm water<\/li>\n