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 ...

CHICKEN ASADO SIOPAO

Archiving the other classic version of our Siopao, the Asado. Asado has many varieties and each one represents a specific region of origin.

Today's mix is inspired by Chinese cooking but more of our palate side so as the flvaour is not too overwhelming.

Here is it--

CHICKEN ASADO SIOPAO

The bun is at 50g each and steam at 8 minutes since the filling is already cooked.

For the Dough and assembling here is the recipe .

CHICKEN ASADO FILLING

 

Ingredients

250 g chicken breast, cubes

1 tbsp EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

I head garlic

1 medium onion

Spring onion, chopped

1 tbsp LKK Superior Light Soya Sauce (you can use regular soy sauce or dark soy sauce but reduce the amount as both are salty)

1 tbsp Oyster Sauce

½  tbsp cornstarch diluted in 1/4 c water

¼  tsp Chinese five spice

Black pepper

Pour EVOO in the pan.

Sauté garlic and onion.

Add chicken, black pepper and five spice. Stir to combine.

When chicken is done, add seasoning (soy sauce and oyster sauce)

Add cornstarch mix. Simmer to thicken.

When done, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Add chopped spring onions before you assemble the siopao.

Notes:

You can combine all purpose flour with cake flour. I fall short of apf in this batch so i used 2 1/2 c apf and 1/2 c cake flour -- the result is the same.

You don't need to torture yourself drooling over your hot steamed delicious bun, go ahead open the steamer right after you steam it, the buns will not deflate as some of the authors claimed. I proved it😁. So go on, steaming hot or warm -- enjoy your Siopao.

No need to use white vinegar, as my recipe uses milk, that would yield a lighter bun texture 😉.

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.

CHAR SIEW PAU

Char siew pau or Cha siu bao 叉烧包 is a Cantonese style bun filled with pork barbecue.  A dim sum which gained popularity not just among Asian communities but to the rest of the people globally. As they say: "East meets West!"😊

A distinctive mark of Char siew pau is a burst on top of the bun. The top cracks open as it is steamed, partially revealing the goodness of the filling.😋

Making pau at home is a matter of pride😉, as dim sums and dumplings are just around the corner, even supermarkets are selling these gems and they come affordable and delicious too!

Today's version is one of our favourite dim sum -- steamed Char siew bun, using a stall bought barbecue pork. As two meat roast stalls emerged just across our place and I decided to try it in our bun and we discovered it is just right for this pau.👍

CHAR SIEW PAU (CHA SIU BAO)
Yields about 655g raw dough

If 40g each you’ll have about 16 pau

If 30g each you’ll have about 21 pau 

PAU Dough:

2 c hongkong flour

3/4 c wheat starch

3/4 c powdered sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp instant yeast

2/3 c water

½ tsp lemon

2 tbsp oil (I used Extra Light Olive Oil)

In a mixing bowl, place flour, starch, sugar, instant yeast, water and lemon.

Mix together to form rough dough. When done, add Oil and continue kneading for about 15 minutes to form a smooth dough.  

Proof for an hour. Then prepare the filling.

Filling:

1 tbsp oil for sautéing

250g cooked char siu

1 head garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp LKK superior light sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

3 drops of red  gel color

Salt and pepper if needed

1 ½ tbsp cornstarch

½ c water

Spring onions to be added when the filling is cooled and before filling it to the dough.

Mix soya sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar and red color in a bowl. Set aside.

Pour oil in a pan.

Sauté garlic and onion.

Add mix sauces. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dissolve cornstarch in water and pour into the filling.

Simmer to thicken the sauce.

When done,  remove from heat and let it cool.

When cooled, add spring onion and mix ready to use.

Assembling:

Divide the dough at 30g each.Prepare hk flour on the side to dust for easy rolling and wrapping.

Get one portion, flatten with rolling pin and place about half tablespoon of filling at the center.

Bring the sides together, wrap, fold the dough up and twist.

Place in a square parchment paper (2”x3”)

Arrange the bun in a steamer, about 6 pcs in one container.

Steam immediately when done, no need to rest the pau.

Steaming:

Using an electric steamer, steaming one layer at a time with {cheese} cloth cover.

Add water in the steamer and 1 tsp of white vinegar.

Bring to a high steam, then

Place pau in a steaming water {Do not open the steamer while it is steaming}

Steam for 8 minutes.

When done, remove from the steamer and set aside to cool with the cloth cover on. Or serve steaming hot!

Note: When cooled this can be placed in a ziplock and freeze.  Steam when needed.