Our baked cha siu bao is to this day one of the recipes that consistently stays at the top of our “most popular” list––a strong indication of just how much people love these tasty BBQ pork buns but you must try these steamed bbq pork buns.
For this reason, steamed BBQ pork buns or Char Siu Bao, also called steamed roast pork buns have been on our to-do list for a long, long time. We’ve had lots of questions from readers on how to make steamed buns, and for good reason. This great variation is a super star on dim sum tables, enjoyed by people of all ages.
But I wasn’t going to just throw it together; we have high standards here. Like our Milk Bread recipe, I’ve been on the hunt for a perfect steamed bun recipe for a long time. The perfect steamed BBQ Pork bun is snowy white and cracked open at the top. Check out our Chinese Roast Pork Cha Siu recipe to make your own filling!
The dream would be having a friend who worked at a Chinese Bakery or dim sum restaurant who could tell me how it was done, but that would be too easy. After much research, I finally found a steamed bbq pork buns recipe in Chinese that worked after some testing and tweaking. Now I know that the key to a pull-apart, snowy white bun is actually cornstarch, and that baking powder helps crack open the tops.
Unlike other steamed buns, which usually start with cold water and are steamed over medium heat, these buns require you to pre-boil the water in the steamer, forcing the buns to rise quickly so the top cracks. Pretty cool stuff, I have to say! How satisfying it is to be able to finally crack open the secret to a mystery.
For the steamed pork bun dough:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (you can also just use a regular mixing bowl and knead by hand), dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Sift together the flour and cornstarch, and add it to the yeast mixture along with the sugar and oil. Turn on the mixer to the lowest setting and let it go until a smooth dough ball is formed.
Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 2 hours. (I haven’t forgotten about the baking powder. You’ll add that later!)
While the dough is resting, let’s make the meat filling for these steamed bbq pork buns. We’re using a recipe similar to the BBQ pork filling recipe we made for the baked version of these buns. The quantities are adjusted for the amount of dough in this recipe.
For the char siu bao filling:
Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for a minute. Turn heat down to medium-low, and add the sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and dark soy. Stir and cook until the mixture starts to bubble up. Add the chicken stock and flour, cooking for a couple minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the roast pork (char siu). Set aside to cool. If you make the filling ahead of time, cover and refrigerate to prevent it from drying out.
After your dough has rested for 2 hours, add the baking powder to the dough and turn the mixer on to the lowest setting. At this point, if the dough looks dry or you’re having trouble incorporating the baking powder, add 1-2 teaspoons water. Gently knead the dough until it becomes smooth again.
Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for another 15 minutes. In the meantime, get a large piece of parchment paper and cut it into ten 4×4 inch squares. You can also use paper cupcake liners, flattened out. Prepare your steamer by bringing the water to a boil.
Now we are ready to assemble the buns: roll the dough into a long tube and divide it into 10 equal pieces. Press each piece of dough into a disc about 4 1/2 inches in diameter (it should be thicker in the center and thinner around the edges).
Add some filling and pleat the buns until they’re closed on the top. (Check out our video of this pleating technique in our Carrot Ginger Pork Bun Post).
Place each cha siu bao bun on a parchment paper square, and steam. I steamed the buns in two separate batches using a bamboo steamer (be sure the boiling water does not touch the buns during steaming process).
If you need a steamer rack, multi-level metal steamer, or better yet, a nice set of Bamboo steamers, check out some recommendations on our Chinese Cooking tools page and buy the same tools we use in our kitchen! You should also see our post on how to set up a steamer if you’re not familiar with steaming foods in Chinese cooking.
Once the water boils, place the buns in the steamer and steam each batch for 12 minutes over high heat.
Serve your steamed bbq pork buns hot!
Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)
Ingredients
For the steamed cha siu bao dough:
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¾ cup warm water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-2 teaspoons water (optional)
For the steamed bao filling:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/3 cup shallots or red onion (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups diced Chinese roast pork (you can buy it ready-made, or see our Chinese BBQ Pork recipe)
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (you can also just use a regular mixing bowl and knead by hand), dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Sift together the flour and cornstarch, and add it to the yeast mixture along with the sugar and oil. Turn on the mixer to the lowest setting and let it go until a smooth dough ball is formed. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 2 hours. (I haven't forgotten about the baking powder. You'll add that later!)
- While the dough is resting, make the meat filling. Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for a minute. Turn heat down to medium-low, and add the sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and dark soy. Stir and cook until the mixture starts to bubble up. Add the chicken stock and flour, cooking for a couple minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the roast pork. Set aside to cool. If you make the filling ahead of time, cover and refrigerate to prevent it from drying out.
- After your dough has rested for 2 hours, add the baking powder to the dough and turn the mixer on to the lowest setting. At this point, if the dough looks dry or you're having trouble incorporating the baking powder, add 1-2 teaspoons water. Gently knead the dough until it becomes smooth again. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for another 15 minutes. In the meantime, get a large piece of parchment paper and cut it into ten 4x4 inch squares. Prepare your steamer by bringing the water to a boil.
- Now we are ready to assemble the buns: roll the dough into a long tube and divide it into 10 equal pieces. Press each piece of dough into a disc about 4 1/2 inches in diameter (it should be thicker in the center and thinner around the edges). Add some filling and pleat the buns until they're closed on top.
- Place each bun on a parchment paper square, and steam. I steamed the buns in two separate batches using a bamboo steamer (be sure the boiling water does not touch the buns during steaming process). Once the water boils, place the buns in the steamer and steam each batch for 12 minutes over high heat.
nutrition facts
My goodness, made these today… Just finished eating them. These were phenomenal! I was skeptical about the dough bc it wasnt very easy to work with, so I wasnt able to nicely pleat them. But once they were steamed in my new bamboo steamer, it didnt matter how they looked. Definitely making these again!
That’s great, Derrick, I am so glad it worked out nicely.
This is my go to bao recipe. I follow the instructions as per the recipe (apart from halving the sugar) and have never had a fail. Prior to finding this recipe, I went through several others and was never fully satisfied. Love it
That’s so awesome, Alecia. So glad to know that we are helpful :-)
I followed the dough recipe as written with 280 grams == 2C of flour and 120 grams == 1C of cornstarch and I thought it worked great.
Hi,
I think that the quantity/ratio for the cornstarch might be too much? Ours turned out too tough/dry and the cornstarch added a weird almost crackly/crispy texture to some of it. The taste was great, the texture was just a bit off and more chewy than pillowy and soft.
Based on your previous recipe, and others I’ve seen on the internet, I think the quantity of cornstarch is too much.
prev baozi recipe: https://thewoksoflife.com/steamed-pork-buns-baozi/
recipe from another source:
Bao Dough-
1 cup water
2 teaspoons (6g) yeast
2 1/2 cups (381) bread flour
1/2 cup (78g) corn starch
5 tbsp (70g) sugar
2 teaspoons (12g) fine sea salt
2 tablespoons (28g) pork fat or butter
Thank you!
Hi Alice, you can try 2.5 cup flour and 0.5 cup cornstarch. Honestly, out of all the steamed buns recipe I’ve shared on the blog, this is the least chewy.
Hi,
We noticed that the water measurement of 3/4 a cup is not really enough water? Is this a typo? Cause we ended up using around 2 cups in the end. Would appreciate some insight. Thanks 😊
I have a feeling that the quantity of cornstarch might be a little high. :) It still tastes great! But we made these yesterday and also had trouble with the texture.
Hi Mitchell, 2 cups of water for 2 cups of flour + 1 cup of cornstarch is definitely too much. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup warm water + 1/4 cup oil, hopefully you did not forget the oil :-)
Love this recipe! First time was a perfect success, but second time came out much different for some reason. The outside was a light brown and the dough came out of the steamer very sticky. Would you be able to add in the weight in grams for the dough ingredients please?
Hi Nicolette, I will do that next time. Thank you for trying out this recipe.
Hi Judy, do you have the filling recipe for this buns with chicken or beef? Thank you.
Hi Anita, I apologize, it’s our oversight. You can use this chicken wonton filling for these buns, it’s very good.
No worries Judy. Thank you so much for your prompt response. Really appreciate it. Will give it a try.. 😘
These are really enjoyable! I had been looking for a recipe that’s close to the one I had in a certain restaurant but none of the others I tried was as good as this one. The one thing I’ve never mastered though is how to fold them up properly – that part is always a mess, haha. But they taste good all the same!
I understand, Sol, the folding takes practice :-)
I’m about to make these right now, but I’m wondering why you recommend adding the baking powder after the initial rise? Seems like mixing it after proofing would force all of the air out of the dough.
Hi Megan, did you make it yet? How do you like the recipe as written?
I did, and I ended up following all the instructions as written, baking powder included. They turned out great, much fluffier than a previous mantou recipe that I tried that didn’t use cornstarch.
Awesome! I am glad you liked it, Megan.
Turned out really well. But I put the baos in the freezer after steaming them & then reheat, it becomes very soggy. If I make this ahead of time, do I freeze/refrigerate before OR after steaming? Thanks.
Hi Alex, I pretty sure the sogginess came from the condensation from the re-steam. You should place the bun on a porous surface that doesn’t collect moisture instead of sitting it directly on a flat surface like a plate, where the condensation collects.