Baked Char Siu Bao | Two Plaid Aprons (2024)

Baked char siu bao is a popular bread item at both dim sum restaurants and Chinese bakeries. The filling inside is made of char siu pork and a sweet and savory sauce that's wrapped in a layer of fluffy, tender bread. Unlike the steamed char siu bao, the alternative, the baked version is perfectly golden brown on the outside and topped with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. These baked baos are great for snacks, lunch, and a perfect addition to dim sum, just like siu mai!

If you’ve made this recipe or any recipes from our blog, please tag us on Instagram using #twoplaidaprons! You can also tag us in your Instagram stories using @two_plaid_aprons. We would love to see your creations! It absolutely makes our day! 🥰

What is char siu bao?

Char siu bao (叉烧包), or cha shao bao in mandarin, translates to roast pork bun. It's a popular Chinese bread/snack that can be found at Chinese bakeries, restaurants, and dim sum and often offered in two forms — steamed or baked char siu bao.

For the steamed char siu bao, the buns are white, tender, and fluffy, while the baked version is often topped with black or white sesame seeds and baked until a beautiful golden brown on the outside and tender and fluffy on the inside. These bbq pork buns are filled with a red sweet and savory char siu pork filling that's a perfect balance of flavor with each bite of the bun.

Ingredient notes

Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!

Char siu bao filling:

• Char siu - This is the main ingredient of the char siu filling. You can easily make it at home with our char siu recipe or purchase it from Chinese markets like 99 Ranch Market and some Chinese restaurants.

• Yellow onion - If you prefer, you could use shallot instead. The onion adds a lot of flavor to the sauce, which is the other main ingredient for the char siu filling.
• Water - Using water is the most convenient and won't change the flavor very much. However, for a more nutritious option, you can use chicken broth or stock instead.
• Sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, toasted sesame oil - These are the seasonings needed for the sauce. The dark soy sauce is mostly for coloring so if you prefer you can omit. As for the sesame oil, it adds a nice layer of toasted, nuttiness, which we highly recommend, but you can omit if you'd like.
• Chicken bouillon powder - A little chicken bouillon powder helps to intensify the flavor of the sauce. Also, since we're using water for the sauce, the bouillon powder will give it an extra boost of flavor.
• Red food coloring - This is totally optional and is simply to give the filling the iconic red color.
• Cornstarch slurry - This is simply a mixture of cornstarch and water. The slurry is used to thicken the sauce.
• Oil for cooking - Any neutral cooking oil is fine.

For the dough:

• All-purpose flour - Normally, breads are made with bread flour, but we've opted to use all-purpose flour so that you don't have to purchase another bag of flour. Plus, all-purpose has enough gluten to give our char siu bao the support and chew it needs.
• Boiling hot water - Drizzling hot water into the flour is a technique similar to using tangzong when making Japanese milk bread, which keeps the dough tender. This is a technique we also used in our Korean sausage bread.
• Milk - Although you can use water, milk will enrich the dough and make it taste better.
• Active dry yeast - This is the most standard yeast to use because it's easy to keep and works with most recipes. You could use instant yeast instead without much adjustment. If you're using instant yeast, you can add it straight into the flour mixture without having to dissolve it in milk first.
• Sugar and salt - To season the dough.
• Unsalted butter - Adding some butter will further enrich the dough, which makes it tastier. We always recommend using unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt added to the dough. If your using salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe.
• Egg - For the egg wash. We like to use whole eggs, but you can also just use an egg yolk mixed with a tablespoon of milk.

How to make baked char siu bao

Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!

Make the filling:

1. Prepare sauce ingredients. In a bowl or measuring cup, mix together the water, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, chicken bouillon powder, dark soy sauce, and red food color until well combined.

2. Saute onion. In a saucepan over medium high heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté until it turns translucent and smells fragrant. Add the prepared sauce.

3. Simmer sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer. Then let the sauce cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Thicken sauce. While the sauce is cooking, mix together the cornstarch and water. Give it a good stir and slowly drizzle it into the sauce while stirring the sauce. Let the sauce cook until it's thick and glossy. Finish by stirring in the sesame oil.

🌟Pro tip: If you prefer, you can take the saucepan off the heat when adding the cornstarch slurry. This will decrease the chances that the cornstarch slurry gets cooked too quickly, creating clumps instead of thickening the sauce.

5. Make the filling. Transfer the sauce to a heatproof bowl along with the diced char siu. Mix until evenly combined. Set the filling aside to cool.

🌟Pro tip: Spread the filling onto the wall of the bowl or just in general spread out the filling to help it cool faster. If needed, you can also let the filling cool in the fridge.

6. Optional - Portion filling. Once the filling has cooled, evenly divide it into 12 portions. Roughly round out the filling for easier wrapping later.

Make the dough:

1. Dissolve yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and give it a good stir. Set it aside and allow the yeast to dissolve, about 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Make dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and give it a good mix. While stirring the flour mixture with chopsticks or a rubber spatula, drizzle in the boiling hot water.

Then add the milk with dissolved yeast and mix until the dough starts to come together. Knead the dough for a few minutes until it's mostly smooth. Cover and allow the dough to rest in a warm area for about 30 minutes.

3. Add butter. After 30 minutes, punch down the dough and knead it briefly until smooth. Then knead in the softened butter until absorbed and round the dough into a ball.

🌟Stand mixer alternative: If using a stand mixer, you can skip the 30 minute rest time. Simply follow the recipe as is and mix the dough on low speed until it comes together. Then increase the speed to medium high and knead the dough until smooth and elastic. And finish by adding the butter and knead until absorbed.

4. Proof dough. Cover the dough and allow it to proof until doubled, about 1 hour.

Assemble:

1. Portion dough. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and turn it out onto a clean work surface, lightly dusted with flour. Knead the dough to its original size and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

2. Fill and shape bao. Working with one piece of dough ball at a time, roll out the dough into a 4 to 5 inch circle. Place a portion of the filling in the center and wrap the dough around the filling. Then pinch the seams together to seal the filling.

Place the bao seam side down and round out the shape. Lightly dust with flour as needed when handling the dough.

🌟 Pro tip: If needed, use the back of a spoon to push the filling into the dough if the filling starts protrude while wrapping.

3. Proof. Arrange the char siu bao on a sheet pan lined with parchment, seam side down, each about 1 to 2 inches apart. Proof the baos in a warm area until doubled, about 1 hour.

Bake:

1. Egg wash. Once the char siu bao have doubled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the top of each bao with the beaten egg and top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

2. Bake. When the oven is at 350°F, bake the bao for 22 to 25 minutes or until the bao is golden brown. Remove from the oven and repeat with the remaining trays of baos.

3. Cool and enjoy. Allow the baked char siu bao to cool until comfortable to handle. Enjoy while warm but be careful of the filling! It stays hot for a while.

Storage

Leftover baked char siu bao can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Make sure to allow the bao to cool completely before storing in an airtight container or a resealable bag.

Reheating

These baked char siu baos are great whether fresh or after refrigerating/freezing. However, the baos will most likely develop wrinkles and imperfection on the outside.

The easiest way to reheat these baked char siu baos is using the microwave. To reheat, place the bao in a microwave-safe container and cover. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the filling inside is hot.

For frozen baos, it is best to allow it to defrost overnight in the fridge until thawed.

FAQ

📖 Recipe