Step 1

Pour the warm milk into a small bowl along with 2 tbsp of the sugar - stir together until dissolved. Sprinkle over the yeast. Whisk lightly and leave to go slightly foamy.

Step 2

Place the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Knead for a minute or until you have a very sticky messy dough. Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl - leave for 10 minutes for the dough to hydrate fully. After 10 minutes return the hook to the stand mixer and knead for around 5 minutes or until you have a smooth ball of dough.

Step 3

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a cold oven. Pour around 100ml boiling water into a baking tray and place at the bottom of the oven - beneath the dough. Leave until doubled in size (around 1-2 hours). While the dough is proving, prepare the Char Siu.

Step 4

Once the bao dough is proved, remove the dough from the oven and push out any large air bubbles with your finger tips. Lightly flour a work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Divide the dough in half with a sharp knife then divide each half into Form each piece of dough into a small ball and place on a baking tray. Cover with cling film and leave to relax for 10 minutes. While relaxing, cut out 24 squares of greaseproof paper around 3 inches in size.

Step 5

Once the dough is relaxed, remove one ball from the tray and place on the floured surface, covering the rest of the balls back up. Dust the top of the ball lightly with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll out into a long oval. Place a greaseproof square on the bottom half of the oval and carefully fold over the top half. Carefully, transfer the folded bao bun onto another greaseproof square and place on a baking tray. Cover while you repeat the process with the remaining 11 balls of dough. Once all dough is prepared, turn on your steamer or place a bamboo steamer over a pan of boiling water.

Step 6

Keeping the bao buns on their squares of greaseproof, place them in the steamer - allow room for the bao to expand when they cook (It’s unlikely that your steamer will fit all the buns in one go, so you’ll have to do them in batches - keep the excess buns in the fridge while the others are steaming).

Step 7

Place all the ingredients for the Char Siu into a medium saucepan and place over a medium heat. Bring to the boil then turn off the heat immediately. Add your dehydrated soy slices, cover, and leave to rehydrate for at least 20 minutes. Once rehydrated, use a slotted spoon to remove the soy slices from the marinade and place them on a baking tray. Place the marinade back on the stove and cook over a medium heat, siring frequently, for around 5-7 minutes or until you have a nice, thick, glossy glaze. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Step 8

Fire up the grill/broiler to full temperature. Using a pastry brush, brush some glaze over the slices of “pork”. Place the “pork” under the grill/broiler for around 3 minutes on each side, brushing with glaze as you flip. Remove from the grill.

Step 9

Once all the buns are steamed it’s time to fill them. Add a few slices of the char siu, some finely sliced carrots, around 3 slices of cucumber and a good few leaves of coriander. If you have any excess marinade, brush or drizzle some onto the char siu. Serve and enjoy!