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Chinese BBQ Pork Puff Pastry (Char Siu Sou)

Relive your dim sum memories with this classic Cantonese BBQ pork puff pastry (char siu sou) recipe. Enjoy succulent and savory char siu filling wrapped in a traditional, tender, flaky puff pastry in the comfort of your own home!
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Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Course Appetizer, baking, Snack
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 8 Pieces

Equipment

  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 Oven

Ingredients
  

Water Dough

  • 60 g All-purpose flour
  • 45 g Pastry flour
  • 35 ml Water
  • 20 g Lard
  • 15 g White granulated sugar
  • 1/2 Large Egg Approximately 30g

Oil Dough

  • 105 g Pastry flour
  • 90 g Lard

BBQ Pork Filling (Char Siu)

  • 165 g Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
  • 1 Green onion
  • 2 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon Cooking oil Neutral oil eg. vegetable, peanut, canoila
  • 1 Tablespoon Oyster sauce
  • 1 Teaspoon Light soy sauce
  • 1 Teaspoon Dark soy sauce
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Chicken powder
  • 25 g White granulated sugar
  • 140 ml Water

Starch slurry

  • 1 Tablespoon Corn starch
  • 2.5 Tablespoons Water
  • 1 Tablespoon Potato starch

Egg wash

  • 1 Large Egg yolk
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Milk

Garnish

  • Sesame seeds

Instructions
 

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 oil dough

  • In a stand mixer, add in your pastry flour and lard. Mix until everything is well combined together.
  • Now, transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop.
  • Shape the dough in a rectangle and then wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge until ready to use.

Making the water dough

  • In a stand mixer, combine your all-purpose flour, pastry flour, sugar, half of an egg and give it a quick few whisks then continue mixing the dough while slowly adding water to the dough in 3 stages. Don’t add all of the water in at once.
  • After kneading for about 2 minutes, add your lard to the dough.
  • Continue kneading the dough until the lard has been well combined with the dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop.
  • Knead the dough for about a minute, then shape the dough into a round rectangle and cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Making the char siu puff pastries

  • Once the dough has chilled, take out the water dough and place it on a floured countertop. Roll it out into a large rectangle shape that is about 1cm thick and then set it aside.
  • Now take out the oil dough, sprinkle some flour on the countertop and roll out the oil dough into a square shape smaller than the water dough, about 1cm thick.
  • Place the oil dough in the center of the water dough. There should be at least 1-2 inches of spacing between the two doughs. Now, wrap and cover the oil dough with the sides of the water dough.
  • Now flatten the dough and roll it out into a large rectangle shape about 1 cm thick. Don’t worry too much about the length of the dough, as we’ll be folding it several times.
  • Now, fold the dough into thirds, starting with the right side folding into the middle, and then taking the left side and folding it over the right side in the middle.
  • Next, roll out the dough into a long rectangular shape about 1cm thick.
  • Then, do the tri-fold again, starting with the right side folding into the middle of the dough and then the left side folding over the right side.
  • Now turn the dough onto its sides so that the longer side faces parallel to you.
  • Next, roll out the dough into a long rectangle.
  • Fold it inwards into quarters, starting with the right side folding into the middle and then the left side folding into the middle, but not over the right side.
  • Now, finally fold the left side over the right side again. Rearrange the dough again so that it is parallel to you, and then flatten and roll out the dough again into a long rectangle that is about 1/2cm thick.
  • Cut the dough in half at the center. Then divide each half into halves again, and then cut those into halves again to make 8 pieces.
  • Now take out your char siu filling from the fridge.
  • Scoop out about 1 Tablespoon of the char siu filling and place it in the center of the puff pastry sheets.
  • Now take one side of the puff pastry edge and wrap it over the filling, and then roll it onto the other side.
  • Then, using both of your index fingers, press down on both sides of the dough to flatten and seal it. You can also use a dough cutter to cut off any uneven edges on the sides as well.
  • Now, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°F).
  • Apply an egg wash to the top of the puff pastries and garnish with some sesame seeds.
  • Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Optional: If, after baking, you want to add a little more color to the puff pastries, bake them at 400°F (200°C) for an additional 1-3 minutes until golden yellow at the top, otherwise, the puff pastries are done baking.
  • After baking, remove the char siu puff pastries from the oven.
  • Let them cool down for at least 5-10 minutes before serving.