Char Siu Bao, Steamed — cookly.recipes

The bun has to split open on its own, which is a leavening problem before it is a filling problem.

WHAT YOU GET

The chef's hidden note — the technique no cookbook prints
Every component built from scratch, each with its own spec
Films on choosing and judging the produce before you buy it
Gross and net gram weights for every ingredient, per portion
Time and temperature at each stage, as run in the restaurant
A photo at every step that can go wrong
Substitutions for anything hard to find where you live
What usually goes wrong, and what to do about it

Yours for good once bought. Updates from the chef included.

BEFORE YOU BUY

Equipment: Bamboo steamer, Stand mixer or strong arms, Baking tray with rack
Allergens: Gluten, Soy, Molluscs, Sesame
Method: 26 steps · 21 photographed · 7 filmed
Components: 3 made from scratch
Films: 3, 18 min

3 RECIPES INSIDE THIS RECIPE

Each with its own weights, steps and timings

The sauce, the cure, the dough, the dressing — a restaurant makes these itself, and so will you. Every one below is a full sub-recipe: its own ingredient list, its own method, its own yield and shelf life. Nothing says «use shop-bought».

Char siu

Film

Pork shoulder marinated in fermented bean curd, honey and five spice, roasted and lacquered with maltose.

Bought char siu is dyed and dry. Roasting your own gives the caramelised edges that are the only interesting part of the filling.

Pork shoulder000 g
Fermented red bean curd000 g
Something cured000 g
A hard cheese000 g
The bitter leaf000 g

Steps: 9
Time: 3 h
Hands-on: 35 min

Makes 600 g · keeps 4 days refrigerated

Up to 2 days ahead — it must be cold before dicing

Weights and method unlock on purchase

Bao filling sauce

Onion softened in lard with oyster sauce and stock, thickened hard and cooled until it sets.

A loose sauce runs into the dough during proving and the base tears in the steamer. This one has to be firm enough to scoop.

Onion000 g
Lard000 g
Something cured000 g
A hard cheese000 g
The bitter leaf000 g

Steps: 6
Time: 40 min
Hands-on: 20 min

Makes 400 g · keeps 3 days refrigerated

Must be made at least 4 hours ahead so it sets cold

Weights and method unlock on purchase

Bao dough

Film

Low-protein flour cut with wheat starch, raised with yeast, then folded with baking powder just before shaping.

Yeast alone makes a soft bun that stays closed. The baking powder going in late is what cracks the top open in the steam.

Low-protein flour000 g
Wheat starch000 g
Something cured000 g
A hard cheese000 g
The bitter leaf000 g

Steps: 8
Time: 2 h
Hands-on: 35 min

Makes 12 buns

Same day only

Weights and method unlock on purchase

WEIGHED

INGREDIENTS

A taste of the list · the rest locked

A few ingredients to show you what the dish is built on. Every one on the full list carries a gross and a net weight per portion, and a note on what you can swap it for where you live.

Pork shoulder000 g
Char siu sauce000 g
Maltose000 g
Low-protein flour000 g
Wheat starch000 g
Smoked something000 g
A whole bulb000 g
Cold-pressed oil000 g
Aged for weeks000 g

The full list, weighed, unlocks on purchase

WATCH BEFORE YOU SHOP

3 films · 18 min

Most of what goes wrong is decided at the counter, before you cook anything. These are filmed by the chef: what to buy, how to tell it is good, and how to set your own kitchen up for it.

CHOOSING6:00

Pork shoulder cuts for char siu, and the fat you need

TECHNIQUE7:00

Pleating and twisting the top so it opens where you want

KIT5:00

Steamer heat and why the lid gets a cloth

METHOD

STEP BY STEP — 26 STEPS

21 photographed · 7 filmed

Written the way a restaurant writes a technical card: one operation per step, each with its own time and temperature. 21 of the 26 carry a photo of what it should look like at that moment, and 7 carry a short clip for the parts a still cannot show.

Hardest step: getting the bun to crack open, not swell shut — step 16 of 26.

01
Read the whole method before you start, then weigh everything out. Every timing below assumes the next ingredient is already within reach.
Free preview
02
03
04
05
06
+ 20 more steps, timed and photographed

WHERE IT USUALLY GOES WRONG

3 things Ng Chi-fai watches for every service. You can read what they are right now — the answer to each one comes with the recipe.

01
Filling cold, dough warm
What to do about it
02
The last fold that decides where it splits
What to do about it
03
Steaming from a cold start
What to do about it

The chef's hidden note

The double leavening that opens the bun, and the sauce thickness that keeps the filling from soaking the base.

Written by Ng Chi-fai. Visible only to people who bought this recipe.

Read it — $6.99

NOTES FROM THE KITCHENS

301 verified cooks · 95% said it worked

Only people who bought the recipe and showed the dish they made can leave a note. Nobody is paid for it.

PAY $6.99 ONCE

301 people cooked it, 95% got it right, and that is the entire reason it costs $6.99 rather than nothing. In 199 more cooks the price becomes $14.99. Your copy never does.

One payment · Yours for good · No subscription