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Monday, June 13, 2005

Char Siew Pau

Making these paus are very easy with the ready mixed and economical as pau flour is quite expensive. The result is just as good as those long processed yeast dough paus.

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Ingredients:


For the Dough:
1 packet of pau ready mixed
1 cup milk/water
1/2 cup sugar

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For the filling:

285g char siew, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp flour

Seasoning:
3 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp monosodium glutamate
2 tsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbsp oyster sauce
4 to 5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp water


Method:
  1. Mix the ingredients for the dough and knead until smooth and elastic. Leave in bowl covered with a damp cloth for 15 minutes.
  2. Heat oil and fry the garlic, add in the flour and stir until flour is cooked.
  3. Add the char siew and the seasonings.
  4. Lastly add in the coriander leaves and sesame seeds and put in refrigerator to cool.
  5. Divide dough into 24 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
  6. Press to flatten and place 1 tsp of filling in the centre. Seal by pleating the edges.(If sealing is not properly done, the pau will open when it is steamed).
  7. Put pau on a sqare piece of greaseproof paper and leave for 10 minutes in a warm place.
  8. Steam over rapidly boiling water which has 2 tbsp of vinegar added for 10 minutes.(Do not lift lid whilst steaming)
  9. Serve hot.
NOTES:
When wrapping the pau, make sure that the flatten dough is as big as possible and that the oil or sauce of filling does not touch the edges of the circle. If the dough feels dry, brush water at the edges before pleating. this will also ensure the sealing will not open. The dough being big, gives it more dough on the top of pau as you pleat and that will certainly give you a SMILING pau.






Serves

52 comments:

  1. Aunty Lily
    That is exactly the same flour I use. Will try your recipe out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jan

    if you have the filling ready you can make this paus in a jiffy. Filling does not stop at char siew.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hahaha...I used this pau flour too! I put roasted peanuts as filling and it was good.

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  4. janny and ching

    i have been telling that i don't need any 3 days or others i have this premix but i have one tientsin pau i would like to share with all of you

    ReplyDelete
  5. First of all I want to congratulate you for such a great blog. So many of my favourite dishes, I don't even know where to start! And my son loves Char Siu Pau, I've been meaning to try making it but the thought of making the dough tired me before I even started. But if you say that the pre-mixed ones are just as good, then I must give it a try!

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  6. Beau Lotus

    you do not have to get the same brand of premix that is on the picture. i have tried other brands and they are just as good. just knead it well and follow instruction on the package.

    happy steaming

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  7. HEllo, you paus are beautifully made. How do you pleat the pau?? Can you teach me step by step (if you can illustrate with picture would be great)? I appreciate your help.

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  8. I tried making char siew pau today. I used regular flour and followed a recipe from the fancy Food from China book. THe pau itself was horrible. The char siew was of course good. Has anyone tried making paus using regular flour?!?

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  9. Hie Lily..

    Wouldn't it be easier to freeze the filling until it is rock hard before proceeding with wrapping the pau?

    Then the oil wouldn't get so much in the way and you would get more filling in your pau.. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  10. ae mi

    you do not need to freeze, just leave in the fridge for 1/2 - 1 hr and the filling will be easier to handle. but caution is needed not to get oil onto the seams of the pleat

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi...thanks for all your lovely recipes. I would like to know where I can find the type of pau flour you have used. Is is possible to find it in Malaysia?

    ReplyDelete
  12. anonymous

    i don't know if you could get them in malaysia but i know there is in sydney australia.

    you could try the pau dough from the tien tsin pau in this blog and use char siew filling

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Auntie Lily,
    Do u have the recipe for Char Siew western bun?Outside is actually western soft bread and cover with Char Siew inside.I love it very much.Do u understand which type i mean?Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  14. anonymous

    i think it is called 'chan pau'. you use the same filling as this recipe and the dough you can follow any sweet bun recipe http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/10/tau-sarred-bean-paste-bun.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Lily,

    It is a pleasure coming across your blogger website. I have been looking for some authentic asian cuisine for quite a while now. It looks like I have located a treasure trove here. Many thanks for sharing your love for cooking with the rest of the world. I will definately, give it a go and trying out all your wonderful recipes. Loved your photographic images too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Lily

    Likes your blog very much.Just curios, why Vinegar is add to boiling water and would you add details on how to pleat pao then do you hv recipe on how to make red bean paste? Thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  17. anonymous

    the acidity in the vinegar will prevent the alkali from making the pau turn yellowish.

    To pleat the pau, just gather the edges together and pinch the pleat well tight.

    i will post the red bean paste when it is time to make mooncakes.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Lily,

    I am interested in making steam red bean paste pau. Is your char siew pau dough recipe the same for red bean pau?

    Please advice.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  19. adrian

    you can use this premix pau flour to make whatever filling pau you wish

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi aunty lily, I loved this post will have to give these a try sometime, I recently bought pau kukus (red bean paste pau) from my local chinese supermarket (sing fat incase anyone was wondering, theres also a place called wing yip round the corner), I don't have a steamer so I had to microwave them, the paste ended up way to hot to eat, by the time the paste cooled the dough was cold and stiff :(, will have to get a steamer for future pau since the soft dough tastes nice hot :D. Great blog keep up the hard work.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Lily,

    Thanks for your reply.

    I was wondering why or the purpose of adding vinegar into the boiling water (Step 8) when steaming the pau.

    Please advice.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  22. saf

    when you want to heat up the pau in the microwave, you would have to wet a piece of kitchen towel and then wrap the pau with it. microwave for 1/2 minute, check it it is soft enough, then proceed with another 1/2 minute

    ReplyDelete
  23. kamyuenw

    the vinegar is supposed to contra the alkali present in the pau thus preventing pau from getting yellow in color.

    you could omit it if you are making with your own pau dough recipe, in this case it was recommended by the manufacturer of the pau mix

    ReplyDelete
  24. Where can I get this pau mixture
    floor in singapore?

    ReplyDelete
  25. anonymous

    i hope any singaporean who is reading this comment can help.

    i am a stranger to singapore, sorry

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hello Please could you tell me where to buy Pau flour in Sydney Australia

    ReplyDelete
  27. anonymous

    i hope any sydney readers can help.

    you can try the asian store.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi lily,
    I tried to make pau using phoon huat ready pau mix but just wondering y my pau is some kind of flat instead of round? Do you kwn y?
    Thks
    Fynn

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi lily,
    sry that i hv missed out 1 question.
    How thin is the skin will be cos my pau skin seems like quite thin..
    Thks again!
    Fynn

    ReplyDelete
  30. fynn

    it is not the thickness of the dough which determines the flatness. Your dough could be slightly softer than it should be or the filling is too runny to hold the dough.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thks Lily for ur reply.. U said softer isit means that i added too much water in the flour? How do i kwn that i hv added enough water?

    Sry to disturb u again..

    Rgds
    Fynn

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  32. fynn

    the dough if too soft is not able to hold itself and if the filling if too runny, this too will make the pau flat.

    if the dough is sticky, knead longer to let the liquid work with the gluten or add in more flour.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi auntie Lily,

    What is the weight of your 1 packet of bao flour? Cos I bought mine at 500g a pack.

    Kuan Yee
    S'pore

    ReplyDelete
  34. kuan yee

    everything in weight in the states is still in lbs and ozs. so my pack of pau mix is l lb/16 ozs.

    you will have to follow the instruction on your pack. my recipe for the dough is for the 1 lb bag of pau mix.

    ReplyDelete
  35. HI,

    I have been making pau for some time.At times it turns out alrite at times it wouldnt!This means sometimes the texture is very smooth and rising properly and at times it just flop upon opening the wok cover. Ive had heard we should let the pau rest too long after shaping it or else it will flop when steaming.Is it true?What is the appropriate time?Tq

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  36. anonymous

    the resting is the final proof and it should be ready when the buns look puffy. time differs depending where you are, so learn to recognise when the buns are ready for steaming. Too long resting means the yeast has stretched the dough too much and will collapse after steaming as the structure is upset.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Lily, thanks for the tips. I tried the pau today and the whole family loves them. Instead of flour I used cornstarch for thickener... which I added almost at the end of filling preparation. I used the premix flour with D&D Gold Product Corporation brand.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hi lily, do you have any link or photos of how to wrap the bao? especially at the tip of it
    thanks!
    yc

    ReplyDelete
  39. yc

    go to youtube.com and search for how to wrap pao. you might be able to see some good videos

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hi lily,

    Chance upon your blog and find it informative. Would like to know if you are able to find HongKong Flour from where you are in US? Thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  41. anonymous

    i do see 'weak' flour in the asian store and i think that 'weak' would mean low-gluten so it is excellent for pau. if not available in where you are, use unbleached flour and replace a tablespoon from a cup with wheat starch - tung mein fun

    ReplyDelete
  42. anonymous

    my apologies, it should be 'bleached flour'.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Hi Auntie Lily,
    can i freeze the pau and do i freeze them before or after steaming them? i also noticed that the ingredients for your char siew pau is different from flower bun. can i make my dough using ingredients from from flower bun? is pau ready mixed different from pau flour? thanks, may

    ReplyDelete
  44. anonymous

    you can use the flower bun recipe for char siew pau. you would have to make them at least once to find out which texture you prefer.

    pau flour mix has leavenings added and you only need to add water or milk but with pau flour you would need baking powder or yeast.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Hi Lily,

    I tried making the pau just now, my pau turned hard as soon as it cooled down haha how long shld I knead it for? many thanks!
    Cheers
    Ling

    ReplyDelete
  46. ring a ding a ling

    the dough has to be kneaded until it is smooth and it will take awhile.

    ReplyDelete
  47. thanks auntie lily,I will try that again. haha shld had bought the kitchenaid mixer during thanksgiving sale. Happy thanksgiving to u and ur family!
    cheers
    ling

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  48. Dang, Lily! Really brings me back to my childhood in Saigon and Singapore--this gives me a great idea for wild boar!

    xie-xie nin!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Hello, Lily!! I've been all over your blog tonight...I thought you had a recipe for making baked cha siu bao?? Or do you only make the steamed version? Also, if I wanted to make the bread from scratch (I haven't seen the mix in my store), what recipe would you recommend?? Thank you!!

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  50. aunt lolo

    here is the baked pau http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2005/09/siew-pao.html.

    All my breads are from scratch, if you have a bread machine you should have no problem with any of the recipes.

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  51. Oh! Thank you. *Grin* What would happen if I baked the dough that you use for steamed bao?? My (very pregnant) sister is craving both, and wants to know if she can make both kinds from the same dough. haha

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  52. aunt lolo

    i have not tried baking the steamed pao recipe but i think it will work. I have fried them though and they are delicious.

    ReplyDelete