CHAR SIU MANAPUA RECIPES

Steps:

• Make the bao dough: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, vegetable oil and ? cup warm water and stir to combine. Slowly add the remaining 2 tablespoons of water, mixing constantly. Knead the dough in the bowl until smooth and well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
• Make the char siu filling: Dice the onion and chop the char sui into ½-inch pieces.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the char siu sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar.
• In a medium nonstick pan, sauté the onion over medium-low heat until translucent, 1 minute. Add the chopped char siu, sauce, and water. Stir to combine, then simmer until the sauce thickens, 2 minutes. Transfer the filling to a medium bowl and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, until cool.
• After rising, punch the dough down and knead until it is back to its original size. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 5 48-gram balls. Flatten and roll out each portion, making sure the middle is thick while the sides are thin. Hold a dough round in the palm of your hand and add 36 grams of the char siu filling to the center. Use your other hand to pinch the edges of the dough together up and over the filling while rotating the bao in your hand.
• Place each bao on a small square of parchment paper. Set in a steamer basket, cover, and let rise for about 15 minutes, until slightly puffed, before steaming.
• Fill the bottom of a steamer or double boiler with water and bring to a boil. Add the steamer basket with the bao, cover, and steam for 15 minutes, then turn off the flame and let rest in the steamer for 5 minutes before serving.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• PROCEDURE FOR THE FILLING:
• Heat 1/2 Tbsp. oil in a small saucepan, saute onions until softened and almost transparent. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Heat remaining Tbsp. of oil in a large skillet, stir fry finely chopped char siu (seasoned pork) till tender.
• Combine the remaining filling ingredients in a bowl and stir till well blended, then add the filling mixture and the sauteed onions to the stir fried char siu. Heat and stir until it is bubbling.
• Combine the chicken broth and the cornstarch in a small bowl and mix till well blended, add to the hot meat mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens.
• Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• NOTE: FILL THE BAO (BUN) WHEN THE FILLING IS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, NOT HOT, NOT REFRIGERATOR COLD.
• PROCEDURE FOR THE BAO (BUN):
• Mix together in a bowl, the yeast packet, lukewarm water and a pinch of salt. Set aside until it's foamy.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar and room temperature milk, whisk until sugar dissolves. Add the 2 cups of the cake flour and mix well. In 3 increments, slowly add the 4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and combine well, but do not over mix.
• Place the dough in a large bowl, and in a warm place, allow for the dough to rise till it doubles in size (approximately 2 1/2 hours, if enclosed in a microwave oven with a jar of boiling water on the side of the bowl).
• Remove the dough from the microwave oven and discard the water.
• Punch down the dough and cut the dough into 24 equal pieces. Form into dough balls and allow the dough balls to rest for about 15 minutes.
• Roll out each ball into 4-inch disks, place a heaping Tbsp. of room temperature filling onto the center of the disk, gather the edges together and pinch it close with a twist.
• With a cookie sheet, prepped with parchment paper, set the bao (bun), twisted side down and spaced evenly apart.
• Put the cookie sheet of bao in a warm, moist area so that it can rise for about 30 minutes.
• Brush the tops of the bao with the beaten egg and bake for 22 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
• Remove the bao from oven onto a cooling rack. Serve hot or warm.
• To retain freshness, bao may be frozen. To reheat a frozen bao, let stand for about 5 minutes, then wrap with a damp paper towel and microwave in the oven for about 1 minute, more if needed.