KUNG PAO (PULLED PORK) PAU

My kids love kung pao, and I remember i had a delicious steamed bun with a kung pao trace in it and thought of making one for our collection.

So here it is--

KUNG PAO (PULLED PORK) PAU

Pau Dough use this recipe

Ingredients

500g pork Chuck ( one whole slice)

1 tbsp EVOO

1 head garlic minced

1 medium onion

1 tbsp Dark Soya Sauce

1 tbsp Light Soya Sauce

2 pcs bay leaf

black pepper

2 c water

You can do this a night before and let the pork sit in its sauce.

Pre-heat oven at 175 degrees.

Place EVOO in a pan in a dutch oven over an open fire.

Sauté garlic and onion, and whole chuck to brown on all sides.

Add water and seasoning.

Quickly Boil then after boiling, cover and transfer to the pre-heated oven and bake for about 2 hours.

When done, remove from oven.

Transfer the chuck to a plate and using 2 forks,  shred the meat.

Set aside.

FIlling

2 tbsp of peanut  oil (any oil will do)

About 500g of pulled pork

2 tbsp cornstarch  mix with 1/2 c water, set aside

1 head garlic, minced

1 medium onion,chopped

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tbsp LKK Superior Light soya sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

Black Pepper

1/2 c chopped roasted peanuts or 1/4 ground peanuts

3 brown button mushrooms, chopped

Spring onion, chopped

In a pan add peanut oil.

Sauté garlic and onions, then add pulled pork.

Drop the black pepper and stir to combine.

Then add mushrooms and stir. Cook for about a minute.

Add the seasoning and stir.

Finally add the peanuts and mix to combine.

When done remove from heat to cool.

Before using to fill the dough, add the spring onion and mix.

Ready to use.

Proceed with the assembling ...

BOLA-BOLA SIOPAO

Siopao or "hot bun", is a filipino version of a cantonese steamed bun
and a popular dimsum in chinese restaurants and recently even on sidewalk vendors. There are many variants of this steam bun both sweet and savoury. 

In Philippines, the savoury fillings are the most appealing in variations of both chicken or pork either in the form of asado or bola-bola. The dough has been a challenge as different cultures use different flours and leavening agents even whitening is a competition😁. 

 As i have mentioned in my previous post, on my side of the globe, steamed bun has many forms, variations and versions depending on which culture are you adopting and are readily available at a competitive price and each one is delicious. The need to make this bun at home is unnecessary. BUT, curiosity enticed me to  venture on making siopoa using all purpose flour or plain flour. So with  a little of this and that, recreated a recipe that is easy and hoping will give the same result across market zones😉

BOLA-BOLA SIOPAO
Yields about 860g raw dough

Makes 17 buns at 50g each

Dough

3 cups plain flour (unbleached)/ all purpose flour

1/3 caster cup sugar

1/2 tablespoon instant yeast

1/2 tablespoon baking powder 

1 ¼  c fresh milk

½ tsp lemon (optional)

  3 tablespoon shortening 

Place flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, milk and lemon in the stand mixer.

Mix to form a rough dough. When done, add the shortening and knead for at least 15 minutes to a smooth, shiny dough.

Rest the dough for at least 30 minutes or until the dough doubled.

While waiting, prepare the filling.

When dough is ready, divide dough into 17 small balls.

Filling

250 grams ground pork - drain if needed

1 head garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

Spring onion, chopped

1 Large egg (about 640g)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoon oyster sauce

3 tablespoon flour

Black pepper

Additional Filling-- optional

Boiled eggs, quartered

 1 link of Chorizo Bilbao (Chinese sausage) sliced into 18 pcs

Place all filling ingredients in a bowl and mix. 

Cover with cling wrap and ready to use.

Assemble.

Take one ball, using a small rolling pin, roll into a smooth ball.

Thickly flatten and scoop about half tablespoon of filling and place it in the center of the dough. Add sliced egg and sausage.

Bring the sides of the dough to wrap, twist to seal.

Place pau on a parchment paper either seal side up or side down.

Rest for about 10 minutes before steaming.

Steaming-using an electric steamer alternating one layer at a time.

Place water in the steamer ( optional: I added 1 tsp of white rice vinegar in the water)

When water is steaming high, place the pau then cover with cheese cloth then place the steamer cover.  Steam for 15 minutes to cook the filling properly and the dough.

When done, remove the steamer from the steaming base, set aside with the cloth cover on and let it rest to settle for a few minutes and serve warm. Leftover can be placed in the freezer and re-steam frozen pau: from fridge steam directly without thawing for 15 mins.

The result is a soft, chewy Siopao with an off white coloured bun.

NOTES:

Bun must be at least 50g each.
Mould bun into a smooth ball.
White vinegar is not necessary in the steaming water.

Filling must not be saucy.

Steam at 15 minutes.

BAKED CHAR SIEW PAU

After the steam BBQ pau, I suddenly thought of making a bake version. I love baked pau and since barbecue pork is conveniently available near our place and i have enough time to make it i decided to pass by the stall and grabbed about a quarter kilo of char siew.

If Steam Char Siew Paus MUST have a burst, cracked top, the Baked Char Siew Pau's signature is a crusty, flaky bun instead of soft bread-like pau. The procedure may seem overwhelming but actually it's just easy and even fun to make. 

Here's how 😉

BAKED CHAR SIEW PAU

Makes 9 pau at about 32g each

Ingredients:

Water Dough – makes about 206g raw dough

Divide about 22g each

3/8 c all purpose flour

¼ c bread flour

3 tbsp oil

1 ½ tbsp caster sugar

½ tsp light syrup

3 tbsp water

Using a stand mixer, mix ingredients for about 10 mins to form a smooth dough, I know this is just a little dough but it’s worth placing in the stand mixer, after mixing, use a spatula to round it into ball and let it sit in the bowl to rest for 15 minutes.  When done, divide into 9.

Oil Dough -makes about 93g raw dough

Divide about 10g each

3/8 c all purpose flour

2 ¾ tbsp oil

Using spatula, mix ingredients in a bowl to form a smooth dough, rest for 15 minutes.  When done, divide into 9.

I made small little balls ready on the side for easy grabbing and some flour to dust in case needed.

Brushing/Garnishing

Eggyolk lightly beaten 

Sesame seeds

Filling (recipe)

Pork BBQ filling or any of your preferred meat

Assembling:

1. Grab one ball of water dough flatten it. Get one ball of oil dough and place it at the center of water dough and wrap.

2.  Using a rolling pin (small one) flatten the dough away from you, it will look like a flat log dough. Roll like a swiss roll. -- flat and roll lengthwise/ vertical---

3. Without moving the rolled dough flatten again sideways. Then roll like a swiss roll. --- flat and roll crosswise/ vertical---

4. Take the roll, and form a ball, then lay on the counter and flatten to form a circle about  4cm in diameter.

5. Place filling (about ½ tbsp) at the center.

6. Bring the sides together. Pinch and twist to seal.

7. Place in a baking tray lined with parchment.

8. Brush pau's with beaten eggyolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. (no need to rest, just bake when your're done preparing the pau).

9. Bake at 190°C for 25 minutes until golden brown.

I accidentally add water in my yolk which i shouldn't so the color is lighter. Pure eggyolk wash will give you a deeper  yellow color, so use just eggyolks.

That's the crusty, flaky skin i want!

PORK BUNS

Who would not be tempted by those soft buns, crunchy sweet top and savoury hot fillings baked to perfection....and with just one bite--- ahhhh heaven! 

Nah! it's just a bread. But a delicious one though. It's sooo good that my kid will finish 3 orders in just one seating and will request for more. This bun is one of their favourites among the bread filled buns but it goes top of the list.  Plus, they will ONLY order that much if it's from their favourite resto. With the Circuit Breaker - Stay at Home situation when dine in is impossible and take out / delivery is a challenge not to mention hygienecally risky, I am challenged and forced to bake one. Proud to say it's a success! Gone in few seconds, even their Dad just had a piece.... he almost missed out!

Here we go---

PORK BUN

Makes about 580 grams of bread dough

about 19 buns at 30g each

ooohhlalala, look at that! Yummy!!!

INGREDIENTS

BREAD

2 c Bread Flour (or all -purpose flour)

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 c + 2 tbsp fresh milk

1 tbsp + 1 tsp white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, add flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Then pour milk, add egg. Then  turn the mixer to medium speed and run until the ingredients combined and form rough ball.

Then add the softened  butter and continue mixing until you get a bottom clean bowl this will take at least 15 minutes or so of mixing.

Stop the mixer, scoop the dough and form into a smooth big ball and return to the bowl to proof for at least an hour or until the dough double its size. 

My dough ready for proofing

( I usually make my dough rise to the top of the bowl, that way i am secured that the dough has properly risen ;-)

When done, ready to use.

FILLING

Can be done ahead of time, just place it in the fridge.

1 head garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 tbsp oil

2 c pork belly, chopped into small cubes

1 1/2 tbsp Lee Kum Kee  light soya sauce + 1/2 tbsp any dark soya sauce (you can just use 1 tbsp SILVERSWAN soy sauce)

1 tbsp hoisin sauce (Lee Kum Kee)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1/2 c water for the meat

1/2 c water to be mix with 1 tbsp cornstarch

Spring onions (optional, to be mixed with the filling before you place the meat into the dough so you can see the greens inside)

Place oil in a pan and sauté garlic and onion.

Then add pork belly and cook to brown.

In a bowl, add soya sauce, hoisin, oyster and 1/2 c water. Stir to combine.

Then pour over the meat, stir and cover the pan and let it simmer until pork is tender, about 10-15 minutes. (use low heat this time to prevent the filling from burning)

When done, pour the water-cornstarch mixture.

Cook filing until very thick.

Remove from heat and let it cool before use.

Before placing the filling into the dough, add the spring onions. 

Look at that greens, an added appetizing color in your filling. I made a mistake by placing it right away after cooking so the greens were cooked before i placed it inside the dough so i lost the green color  So from the finished product you cant see any greens anymore.  ;-(
So lesson learned, place greens right before you actually fill the bun.

TOPPING

1/4 c unsalted butter (about 50-60g butter))

1/2 c powdered sugar

1 tbsp cornstach

1/2 c flour (all-purpose flour)

1 egg

2 tbsp water

Cream butter and Sugar until light and fluffy.

Add flour , cornstarch, egg and water and whisk until combined and in smooth paste texture.

Place in a piping bag.

Ready to use.

ASSEMBLY

When dough is ready, divide it into 30g each making about 19 small dough balls.

Grab one small dough, flatten it with roller, then scoop about 1 tbsp of filling and place it at the center of the dough. Gather the edges and seal the sides.

Place the bun seal down on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Repeat this with the rest of the small doughs.

Once done, let the filled doughs rest for another 40 minutes or until its size doubles.

When done and before baking, cover the bun with filling. Circling the top by swirling it around the bun going down about halfway each bun.

Piping the topping using Wilton #5 Tip But you can also pipe without piping tip, just make a small hole on your tip of the piping bag you are using.

Pre-heat oven to 350º F or 175º C.

Bake buns for about 15-20 minutes until slightly brown, 

DO NOT OVERBAKE...