Step 1

Pick your desired pork meat and clean it.In my recipe, I use diced pork Boston butt.

Step 2

Then, prepare a wok for stir-frying and add the diced pork meat.

Step 3

Keep stir-frying until the fat melts and the meat turns brown.

Step 4

Next, add char siu sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rock sugar.

Step 5

Continue stir-frying until the sauces are well mixed into the meat. The meat should have a dark brown even color.

Step 6

Afterward, pour hot water and cook for 15 minutes. It will start to boil and cook the meat thoroughly.

Step 7

After 15 minutes, add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the filling. This makes the filling saucy and not too runny. If you like a juicy filling, avoid overcooking it or drying out the filling.

Step 8

Let it cool on a plate and keep it in the fridge for an hour while you make the dough.I highly recommend refrigerating the filling to make the sauce thicker and well-incorporated.

Step 9

In a bowl, mix warm water, sugar, and yeast powder.

Step 10

Then, add high-gluten flour and lard.

Step 11

Mix and knead the dough until you get a smooth consistency.Make sure to remove as many air bubbles as you can in the kneaded dough. Otherwise, the steamed bun will crumble because of too many air pockets in the dough.

Step 12

Afterward, shape the dough into a long cylindrical dough.

Step 13

Then, divide the dough into 60g portions using a knife or dough cutter.

Step 14

Take each portion and flatten it with a rolling pin to make flat circular dough wrappers. I recommend making the center of the dough wrapper a bit thicker than the edges. This will make it stronger to hold the filling.

Step 15

Take your chilled filling and give it a good mix.The sauce should become thicker and less watery, making it easier to place in the dough wrapper.

Step 16

Place the filling at the center of a dough wrapper.

Step 17

Seal the dough by forming creases on the edges and pinching the top center. You can slightly twist it as you seal it to give you that traditional bao bun look.

Step 18

Then, use parchment paper to place the bao buns on top for fermentation. Parchment paper is needed to prevent the buns from sticking to the surface which can break the bottom of the wrapper.

Step 19

Let the bao buns ferment and become larger in size. It usually doubles in size after proofing.

Step 20

Next, steam for 12 minutes while covered.

Step 21

Lastly, enjoy a sweet and savory bun and serve it for snacks or a light lunch.