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Chinese Baked BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)

Mouthwatering, juicy Chinese BBQ pork in a rich gravy sauce wrapped in a soft and fluffy milk bread bun. These classic baked Chinese BBQ pork buns (Char Siu Bao) will have you coming back for seconds!
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Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 48 minutes
Course Appetizer, baking, Snack
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 8 Buns

Equipment

  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 Oven

Ingredients
  

Tangzhong (Water Roux)

  • 100 ml Water
  • 20 g Bread flour

Dough

  • 300 g Bread flour
  • 95 ml Milk 1%, 2%, Whole milk
  • 1 Large Egg Room temperature
  • 5 g Instant yeast
  • 20 g Unsalted Butter Room temperature
  • 40 g White granulated sugar
  • 2 g Table salt
  • 6 g Milk powder

Char Siu Filling

  • 175 g Char siu Chinese BBQ Pork
  • 1 Green onion
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon Cooking oil Neutral oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Dark soy sauce
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Chicken powder
  • 30 g White granulated sugar
  • 125 ml White 1/2 Cup

Cornstarch slurry (added to sauce)

  • 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
  • 1 Tablespoon Potato starch
  • 2.5 Tablespoon Water

Egg wash

  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon Milk

Sugar glaze

  • 45ml Water 3 Tablespoons
  • 19 g White granulated sugar 1.5 Tablespoons

Instructions
 

Making the Tangzhong

  • We’re going to start off by making our Tangzhong, a water roux. This will make our bread nice and airy when baking and keep it soft longer.
  • In a small saucepan, add your bread flour and water. Heat the pan on low heat while constantly stirring it until the mixture turns into a thick gelatinous paste.
  • Then remove the pan from the stove and transfer it to a small bowl or dish. Cover it with plastic wrap and then store it in the fridge and let it cool down for at least 30 minutes before using. You can also make your Tangzhong the night before as well.
  • While our tangzhong is cooling down in the fridge, we’re going to make our char siu filling next.

Making the Char Siu Filling

  • To start, make the starch slurry by combining potato starch and corn starch with water. Mix everything well together and set aside.
  • In a cup or bowl, add in your oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chicken powder, sugar, and water. Mix everything well together and then set it aside.
  • Now heat up a wok on medium heat.
  • Once the wok is hot, add 1 Tbsp of cooking oil into the wok and swirl it around the wok. Next, crush your garlic and cut your green onions into 3-inch-long pieces and add them to the wok.
  • Stir-fry everything until aromatic (about 30 seconds).
  • Now, give your sauce a quick stir and then pour it into the wok as well. Mix everything well together and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
  • Next, remove the green onions and crushed garlic from your wok and turn your stove down to medium-low heat.
  • Give your starch slurry a quick mix to avoid letting the starch pool at the bottom.
  • Now, while stirring the sauce in the wok, slowly pour in the starch slurry into the wok.
  • Mix everything well together, and then turn the heat back to medium-high heat while constantly stirring the sauce.
  • Allow the sauce to cook until it becomes very thick and bubbly, and then remove the sauce from the wok. Pour it into a bowl and allow it to cool down.
  • Once it has cooled down, cover it with some plastic wrap and then place it in the fridge to allow it to thicken up even more.
  • Once the sauce has thickened up and cooled down in the fridge, take your char siu and cut it into bite-sized pieces about the size of your fingernails.
  • Combine the char siu with your sauce and mix everything well together, and then cover it again and place it back in the fridge for later use.

Making the Dough

  • In a large mixing bowl, add in your bread flour, white granulated sugar, table salt, instant yeast, milk powder, 1 egg, and the Tangzhong from earlier.
  • Pop the mixing bowl into a stand mixer and give it a quick few whisks.
  • Then add in your room temperature milk and mix everything together for 3-4 minutes.
  • Then add in your room temperature butter and continue kneading the dough for an additional 11-12 minutes until the dough is very smooth.
  • Next, transfer the dough to a greased large bowl.
  • Then shape the dough into a round ball. If you find the dough difficult to handle, then you can apply either some oil or water to your hands.
  • Once done shaping the dough, place it back into the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a towel, and let it proof in a warm place until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
  • Once our dough has finished proofing, de-gase the dough and transfer it to your countertop.
  • Shape it into a ball and weigh out the dough.
  • Next, divide the dough into 8 pieces and weigh out each piece.
  • Then shape each piece into a round ball and then cover it, and let it rest for about 20 minutes to relax the dough.
  • Once 20 minutes have passed, sprinkle a little bit of flour onto your countertop and grab one piece of the dough and flatten it out. Now roll the dough out into a circular shape, making sure that the middle part of the dough is thicker than the outer edges.
  • An easy method for doing this is to use a rolling pin with one hand and roll it towards the center while using your other hand to turn the piece of dough in a circular motion.
  • Repeat the steps for the rest of the pieces.
  • Now take your filling out of the fridge. Scoop out a generous portion of the filling (about 1.5-2 tablespoons (Tbsp)) onto the piece of dough.
  • Now, grab the opposite edges of the bun and bring them together in the center, and pinch them together. Repeat this for all of the edges until the bun is sealed.
  • Next, pinch the top of the bun while rotating with your other hand to twist and seal up the top of the bun. Finally, flip the bun over and gently roll it on your countertop to fully seal the bun and make it into a perfect round shape.
  • Repeat this process for all of the other pieces.
  • Once done, place the buns onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and cover the buns with plastic wrap or a towel and let them proof in a warm place for about 40 minutes.
  • While the buns are proofing, prepare an egg wash by whisking 1 egg together with 1/2 teaspoon of milk and set it aside.
  • When the buns are done proofing, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and apply the eggwash on top of the buns.
  • Now bake the buns for 17-18 minutes at 350°F (180°C) or until the top of the buns is golden brown.
  • While the buns are baking, prepare a sugar glaze by adding your sugar and water into a saucepan. Heat up the saucepan on medium heat while constantly stirring the saucepan. Once the sugar has fully melted, remove the saucepan from the stove and set it aside.
  • Once the buns are done baking, remove them from the oven and apply the sugar glaze on top of the buns.
  • Let the buns cool down for 5-10 minutes, and then serve them while still hot!