Baked Siopao - Filipino Meat Bun

Hello, foodie friends!

Today I will be sharing a recipe for one famous snack in the Philippines. Siopao is a famous hot bun sold in bakeries and restaurants in our country. This steamed bun has various fillings, like pork asado or bola-bola, but instead of steaming the bun like regular siopao, I made some twists and baked it in this recipe.

Baked siopao is a very common snack in Southern Luzon, but since I am away and there are only a few shops selling this snack where I live, I tried making it for the first time. Come along and join me as I try to recreate one of my favorite snacks of all time.

Did it meet my expectations and taste like the one I used to buy in the bakery back in my hometown? Hmmm, let's find out!

Just like every time I try a new recipe, I always utilize my search bar to find the greatest recipe to try, compare, organize, and save. I take notes on the recipe and watch it countless times before starting to do it. This baked siopao I tried is a combination of different beginner recipes, so let's get cooking!

Ingredients

Dough:

3/4 cup warm fresh milk
1/3 cup warm water
5 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:

400 grams pork (pre boiled and cut to small pieces)
2 tbsp sesame oil for sautéing
2 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
3 pcs star anise
3 cloves garlic diced
1 small onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

1 pc beaten egg for egg wash

Instructions:

Make the dough.

• Combine warm milk, warm water, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar; mix to dissolve, then add the active dry yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes, or until bubbly.

• In a separate bowl, mix together flour, the remaining brown sugar, and salt.

• Once the milk and yeast mixture is bubbly, add the dry mixture and mix until all the liquid is absorbed by the flour.

• In a clean and floured or oiled space, kneed the dough for 8 minutes or until it became elastic. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with cloth, and let it rise for 1 and a half hours or until it doubles in size.

Make the filling.

• In a heated, oiled skillet, sauté the garlic and onions until aromatics.

• Add in the preboiled pork, season with salt and pepper, and add the star anise. Stir.

• Mix together the oyster sauce, hoisen sauce, and soy sauce and add them to the sauteed pork mixture. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.

• Dilute the brown sugar and cornstarch in 1/2 cup water and add to the simmering pork mixture. Let it simmer until it becomes thick. Set it aside and let it cool completely. Don't forget to remove the star anise before assembling the bun.

Assembling the Siopao.

• Gently punch the dough to release the air pocket, kneed, and divided the dough into 12 pieces. Roll into balls.

• Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough, add a tablespoon of filling and a slice of hard-boiled egg, wrap, and place it in a tray with parchment paper. Repeat the process with all the dough balls.

• Cover the assembled siopao with a clean cloth to let it rest for 15 minutes. Preheat your oven.

Baking Time.

• Bake the buns at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

• Remove the buns from the oven, brush them with egg wash, return them to the oven, and bake for another 5 minutes, or until the top of the buns turns golden brown.

• All done! Serve and enjoy! Best eaten warm.

If you asked me, how was my experience making a baked siopao? It was actually fun to make because I like playing with dough and wrapping. The taste? It tastes like asado siopao, but I liked the hard-toasted bun texture; it's like eating a soft, warm bread with a meaty filling inside. Will I make this recipe again? definitely! It was gone in less than 15 minutes after taking that last photo above; see below!

Tadaaa! The last man siopao standing! lol

Thank you for reading!

See you on my next foodie blog!

❤️❤️❤️

The lead image was edited using Canva.

All photos are my own, unless stated otherwise.