Best Char Siu Bao Steamed Pork Buns

Published May 17, 2020 Updated Aug 27, 2024

Cha Siu Bao Recipe

Cha Siu Bao (also spelled as Cha Siu Bao or Char Siew Bao) is one of the signature dishes in dim sum restaurants around the world. Called 叉烧包, or cha shao bao in Chinese, they are a Chinatown classic! Originated from Guangzhou in mainland China, Cha Siu Bao is a delicacy. These Cantonese steamed pork buns are found in many Cantonese-Chinese restaurants serving dim sum. Imagine soft, fluffy white steamed buns filled with savory char siu or Chinese BBQ pork filling in a sweet and savory char siu sauce; they are absolutely delicious!

Ingredients

Ingredients For Char Siu Bao Filling

Char siu Cooking oil Soy sauce Cornstarch Oyster sauce Sugar Salt Sesame oil Red food colouring Water Yellow onion

Ingredients For Char Siu Bao Dough

Low-protein flour Wheat starch Baking powder Vegetable oil Active dry yeast Powdered sugar Water Chinese white vinegar

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.

How To Make This Recipe

For soft and fluffy homemade steamed buns, you need a mixture of low-gluten flour and wheat starch. The low-gluten flour is called Hong Kong Flour in Malaysia and you can get the flour from supermarket. If you can’t find Hong Kong flour, you may use cake flour as the substitute. The end result will be softer and fluffier steamed buns compared to all-purpose flour.

Cooking Tips

To make dim sum restaurant quality char siu bao or steamed pork buns, please following the cooking tips below:

If bigger bun is desired, divide dough into 12 equal portions. There is no need to rest the char siu bao dough after adding in the baking powder. If time allows, rest it for 10 minutes to get fluffier buns. Add Chinese white vinegar into the steaming water to produce whiter buns. This is an optional step. The steamer must be preheated before steaming the buns. They will not rise properly without the hot steam. Spray the surface of the buns with water mist will help to produce steamed buns with beautiful and smooth surface. DO NOT open the steamer’s lid during the steaming process. If there are yellowish spots on the steamed buns, it means the baking powder is not properly dissolved.

What To Serve With This Recipe

Serve this dish with other Cantonese dim sum or Chinese appetizers. For a homemade dim sum meal, I recommend the following recipes. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.