Daring Cooks December 2011 - Char Siu & Char Siu Pau

Char Siu Pau
Char Siu
The final Daring Cook’s Challenge for the year – my how time has flown by. In fairness, I haven’t been the best Daring Cook, failing to complete a number of the challenges due to travelling and other commitments.

By hey, I managed to this challenge cooked and plated before the reveal date! Yay me! To be completely honest, there was no way I was going to let this challenge go by without making an effort. Char Siu has always been close to my heart – my late grandmother introduced me to this dish a long time ago. Every time I came home from university, she’d insist that she buy me Char Siu Rice from the restaurant nearby. It’s the only place I know which sells the perfect Char Siu; perfectly charred meat on the outside yet tender and succulent on the inside.

Seeing what this month’s challenge was brought back many nostalgic memories and when the dish was complete, I wished so hard that my grandmother was still here to savour it as she would have definitely agreed that this Char Siu recipe came pretty damn close to the one from ‘our’ restaurant. 
Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose the awesome Char Siu Pau as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Sui, and filling from scratch – delicious!



Char Siu also known as Cantonese BBQ Pork is widely available in Chinese restaurant and is used in many dishes such as in fried rice, noodles or even on its own. In Malaysia, we often have it with rice, a soy based sauce and some sliced cucumbers.

For the pork, we were given 3 cooking options to choose from; straight into the oven, seared on a hot pan then transferred into the oven or grilled on the BBQ.



For the paus/buns we have the option of either steaming or baking them. I have never taken a fancy to the steamed buns so naturally the baking option was my choice.

Sara also provided us with a vegetarian option – Mushroom Fillings for Baked Buns. The original Char Siu and vegetarian recipe can be found here.




Char Siu

Ingredients

1 pork loin
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1.5 tbsp maltose (or honey)
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp hoisin suace
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
½ tsp ground white pepper
Pinch of salt
½ tsp five spice powder
½ tsp sesame oil
½ tsp red food colouring (optional)

Method 

Marinade
  1. Place pork loin in a container that you will be marinating it in. If you prefer, cut the pork into smaller pieces as it allows for a more flavoursome Char Siu.
  2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour the marinade over the pork and ensure that the pork is properly coated. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours. 
*I left mine in refrigerator to marinate for 48 hours.

Cooking
  1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Cover a baking tray with foil or baking paper. Place a rack on top of the baking tray on which the pork will cook.
  2. Place the pork in a hot pan and sear it quickly to seal the meat. Once the meat is sealed on every side, place the pork on the rack and baste it with the remaining marinade.
  3. Continue to baste the meat once every 5 minutes.
  4. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your meat.
  5. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing.




Char Siu Pau

Filling Ingredients


350g Char Siu, diced

2 spring onions/scallions, thinly sliced

½ tbsp vegetable oil

4-5 tbsp reserved marinade from Char Siu

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine



Dough Ingredients


2½ tsp dried yeast

55g sugar

½ cup warm water

280g plain flour

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 tbsp oil

½ tsp salt

Egg wash: 1 egg, beaten with a few drops of water.


Method


Filling

  1. Heat oil in a wok/ frying pan and add diced Char Siu. Stir and let cook for a minute. Add the spring onions and leave to cook for another minute.
  2. Add the marinade and cooking wine and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool until ready to use.

Bun

  1. Place the sugar and warm water in a bowl and mix until sugar is dissolved. Add the yeast and leave for 15 minutes.
  2. Add flour into a large bowl and incorporate the egg, oil, salt and yeast mixture. Bring flour mixture together with your hands. Add more flour if the dough remains too sticky.
  3. Place dough on a floured surface and continuously knead for 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
  4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until doubled in size. This usually takes about 1-2 hours, depending on the weather condition.
  5. Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back and divide it into 12 portions. Shape each portion into round balls.
  6. Roll out each ball into discs of about 3-4 inches in diameter. You can use a rolling pin or your hands.
  7. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling in the middle of the disc and gather the edges to the middle and seal your bun.
  8. Place the buns, sealed side down on a baking tray. Continue with the remaining balls of dough.
  9. Brush the surface of the buns with egg wash and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.