BAKED BBQ PORK BUNS (CHAR SIU BAO)

OK, I hear you saying, "those yummy-looking buns will take all day in the kitchen!" But actually it will take 3 days. Hah!  You marinate on the first day, make the filling on the second day and on the third day make the dough and eat them.  A minimal amount of work on each day is all that is required.  The credit for the basic recipe is Martin Yan's. This recipe makes approximately 16 buns depending on how large you like them. 

Day 1: MARINATE PORK FOR 24 HOURS

Char Siu (BBQ Pork):
2# Pork Tenderloin, trimmed of silver and fat
Salt and Sugar (to taste) (I use 1Tsp Salt to 1 Tbsp Sugar)
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Cut meat into strips approximately 1-1/2" in diameter and 2" long.  Sprinkle with about 1 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp sugar, combine and let set several hours in the refrigerator.

MARINADE FOR PORK:
1/2 Cup Ketchup
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tsp Hoisin Sauce
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Sherry
1 Tsp 5 Spice Powder
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1/2 Tsp Fish Sauce
1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
Drain any excess juices from pork. Combine the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together well. Pour over meat and marinate 24 hours, turning several times to coat all sides. Refrigerate overnight.

Day 2: Bake the pork and Make the Sauce and Filling

Remove pork from marinade and Preheat oven to 350.
Place pieces on a lightly sprayed rack on a shallow baking sheet pan. (It would be prudent to line your baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. (unfortunately I learned this the hard way and had to trash my hopelessly charred sheet pan) and bake for 30 minutes. Turn meat, baste with marinade and bake 30 minutes more.  Cool.  
Chop into large mince.Use 2 cups of the pork mince to make the filling. You may have some leftover. 

SAUCE:
While the pork is in the oven, mix the following ingredients which will be the sauce for the filling:
2 Tbsp Plus 2 Tsp Oyster Sauce
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce (low sodium)
2 Tbsp Plus 2 Tsp Ketchup
2 Tbsp Sugar
3/4 Cup Chicken Broth (low sodium)
2 Tsp sesame oil

FILLING:
2 Cups Pork mince, (from the recipe above)
1-1/3 Cup minced onions
1 Tbsp Plus 1 Tsp Dry Sherry
Sauce Recipe (from the recipe above)

Add 2 Tbsp Canola oil to a large skillet. When hot, add onions and cook on LOW heat until just starting to brown. Add pork mince.   Raise heat to medium-high and cook till pork is heated through--about 2 minutes at most. Reduce heat to very low and add Sherry and cook another minute. Add all of the sauce recipe and cook until thick and bubbly (about 4-5 minutes). Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before filling buns.


Day 3: Make the dough and bake the buns 

DOUGH:
1 Cup Milk (either skim, low fat or regular)
1/4 Cup Butter
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 Cup Water (110 degrees)
2-1/4 Tsp Active Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp Sugar
4-1/2 Cups All purpose flour
1-1/2 Tsp Salt

1 egg, lightly beaten for brushing tops




Heat milk and  butter to 120 degrees. Cool to room temperature. 
Add slightly beaten egg to milk and butter and set aside
In a large bowl, combine yeast with sugar and 110 degree water.
Set aside until foamy. (about 5 minutes)
In another bowl, measure flour and whisk together with salt.

When yeast is ready, add the milk-butter-egg mixture and  stir to combine. Start adding flour 1/2 cup at a time incorporating it well. When able to handle dough, knead on a lightly floured surface for 5-8 minutes or until it is smooth and tacky--but not sticky. Remember the more flour you add, the heavier the bread will be....so just add it a little at a time when kneading.

Place the dough ball into a sprayed bowl and turn to coat; let rise 30-35 minutes.
When dough is risen, divide in half and return half to the oiled bowl, covered with a damp cloth. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces.  

Form each piece into a ball then  flatten into a circle with the outside being thinner, make a "well" with your thumb, and add about 1 level tablespoon of filling or a little less and wrap the dough over, pinching at the bottom. to form a sealed ball. Repeat with the other half. Placing each bun (seam side down) on parchment covered baking sheet. Cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap and let rise about 15-30 minutes or until they are puffy and have increased in size by half.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Brush with lightly beaten egg. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they are golden and shiny. They'll rise in the oven to about 1-1/2 times their unbaked size. The buns are out-of-this world when served warm from the oven, but room temperature works too. They can be re-heated in a warm oven for a few minutes.