Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao) � Sweet, Steamy Memories

In younger, leaner times, I�d often rely on the delicious, inexpensive calorie bomb that is the steamed barbecue pork bun. They were twice the size, and for a few bucks you could get very full�for about 30 minutes, and then you were starving again. Nothing a Mission-style burrito couldn�t fix.

Anyway, the filling was chopped Chinese-style barbecue pork mixed with some kind of mysterious, gelatinous red sauce, which was significantly sweeter than what I�m doing here. 

That�s probably why they don�t seem to come out quite the same as I remember. I probably need a lot more sugar, as well as copious amounts of MSG. Having said that, I was pretty pleased with my insides, but as usual I encourage you to freestyle. 

Here�s a link to a fairly classic pork bun filling recipe, in case you want something slightly more authentic, and since it looks just like the stuff I mentioned above, I might give it a try next time. But, regardless what you fill yours with, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao):

For the dough:

3/4 cups warm water

1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoon white sugar

2 cups *self-rising flour

For the filling (this made more than I needed):

2 cups chopped Chinese-style barbecue pork, or other barbecued pork product

1/4 cup finely sliced green onions

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/4 cup hoisin sauce, or as needed

salt (soy sauce) and cayenne to taste

2 teaspoons white sugar, optional

*If you don't have self-rising flour, you can use 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted with 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon fine table salt.

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