Steamed Barbecued Pork Buns

from Dim Sum by Rhoda Fong Yee

Filling:
4 c barbecued pork, diced fine
1/2 c dehydrated onion flakes

Sauce:
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sherry
4 teaspoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons catsup
1 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 c chicken stock

TO MAKE FILLING: Soak onion flakes in a cup with just enough water to cover flakes. Mix sauce in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat until sauce thickens. Stir in the diced pork and onion flakes. Chill 3-4 hours.

WRAPPING: Divide filling into 24 portions. Divide dough into 24 balls. Slightly flatten each ball then roll out into 4-inch discs, leaving the center of the disc twice as thick as the side. Place 1
portion of the filling in the center of the dough. Gather up the sides around the filling and twist dough to seal. Place on a 2 inch square piece of wax paper, twist side down. Put the
wrapped buns at least 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and allow the buns to rise in a draft-free place (the oven) for another hour.

STEAMING: Steam for 15 minutes. Turn heat off and let the steam subside before lifting the cover. BAKING: Cha Siu Bow can also be baked. Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Set buns 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Brush with a mixture of 1 beaten egg white, 1 tsp. water and 1/4 tsp. sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter.

DO AHEAD NOTES: Cook and freeze. Reheat by steaming if steam-cooked originally. Steam frozen buns for 1/2 hour to reheat. If baked, thaw and wrap buns in foil or cover pan with foil and reheat in slow oven for 1/2 hour.

COMMENTS: A good filling should have some pork fat mixed in with the lean meat. Most importantly, Cha Siu Bow filling should be very juicy. That's why Ms. Yee uses so much liquid in the sauce mixture. By chilling the filling thoroughly, the sauce, which is very thick, adheres to the filling much better. Ideally, when you make the barbecued pork, you should try to save the pork drippings and use them as part of the sauce mixture. Ms. Yee deliberately leaves the center of the dough a bit thick because, if you roll it out to an even thickness, the top of the bun will ended up being too thin in comparison to the bottom due to of the way the dough is wrapped. In a pinch, you may use frozen bread dough as a substitute. However, frozen dough works best when baked. It does not steam well.

Source: "Dim Sum" by Rhoda Fong Yee.