🥟 Char siu bao (steamed BBQ pork buns)

Name: Char siu bao (steamed BBQ pork buns)
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: China · Guangdong
Ingredients: 300 g plain flour; 1 tsp dried yeast, 1 tsp baking powder, 40 g sugar; 150 ml warm water and 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 250 g char siu (roast pork), diced small; 1 tbsp hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar; 1 tbsp cornflour in 80 ml water

Origin: China · Guangdong

160kcal

per serving · 80 g

200kcal

per 100 g

6 gProtein7 g / 100 g

4 gFat5 g / 100 g

26 gCarbs32 g / 100 g

Char siu bao are fluffy white steamed buns filled with sweet barbecue pork bound in a glossy hoisin and soy sauce gravy. Well-made buns split open at the top as they steam, showing the red filling inside. They are one of the best-known dim sum dishes, served hot in bamboo steamers with tea.

Diets

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: pork

Not veganbecause of: pork

Contains porkbecause of: pork

Contains glutenbecause of: hoisin sauce, soy sauce, steamed bun dough

Not keto32 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Soy

What it is made of

porkhoisin saucesugarsoy saucesteamed bun dough

Recipe

10 servings150 min

Ingredients

300 g plain flour
1 tsp dried yeast, 1 tsp baking powder, 40 g sugar
150 ml warm water and 1 tbsp vegetable oil
250 g char siu (roast pork), diced small
1 tbsp hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cornflour in 80 ml water

Method

Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, water and oil and knead until smooth; rest for 1 hour, then knead in the baking powder.
Heat the hoisin, soy sauce, sugar and cornflour mixture until thick, add the pork and cool.
Divide the dough into 10 pieces, roll into discs with thinner edges and fill each with a spoonful of pork.
Pleat the edges closed and set each bun on a square of baking paper.
Rest for 15 minutes, then steam over high heat for 12 minutes without lifting the lid.

How to make it lighter

Two buns make a reasonable snack portion — add a plate of steamed greens to fill up.
Use leaner roast pork in the filling and keep the gravy light on sugar.
Steaming adds no fat, so avoid frying leftover buns; re-steam them instead.

History

Char siu bao come from Cantonese dim sum, the tradition of small dishes served with tea in Guangdong teahouses. Hong Kong restaurants spread them worldwide, and they remain a staple of dim sum menus today.

Count it in one photo

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →