I’ve been back in Singapore for almost a month now and haven’t had the urge to step into the kitchen. Frankly, I’m quite enjoying this break from cooking and baking. This means no new recipes but since I’m rather lazy and slow in posting recipes, I have reserves to fall back on. Hehe.
I’ve made these baked char siew buns a couple of times. It’s rather time-consuming so I only make them on my son’s request. In Singapore where these buns are sold in almost every bakery, he will often pass these buns for other types of bread or buns. But when I can’t get them anywhere in Dubai, he wants to eat them. Somehow I think he’s practicing job creation.
I use the same 65°C 汤种 tangzhong (water roux) method to make the bread and prepared the char siew filling with homemade char siew. *I said it’s time-consuming* If you can easily purchase ready-made char siew, do yourself a favour and get them. If you can’t, there’s always the recipe below. 
HOMEMADE CHAR SIEW FILLING
Ingredients:
- 250 gram homemade or store-bought char siew (or chicken char siew), diced
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- ¼ onion (about 50 gram), diced
Seasoning:
- 1½ tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Corn Starch Solution:
- 150 ml water
- 1½ tablespoon corn flour
Method:
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the seasoning together.
- Heat up oil in a pan and sauté onion for 1 to 2 minutes. Add in char siew and seasoning and stir fry till mixed.
- Add corn starch solution and continue to cook till sauce is thickened. Set aside to cool.
BAKED CHAR SIEW BUN
Makes 16 buns
Ingredients:
- Char siew filling, recipe above
- 350 gram bread flour
- 55 gram caster sugar
- 5 gram (1 teaspoon) salt
- 56 gram (1 large) egg
- 7 gram milk powder, to increase fragrance (optional)
- 125 ml milk
- 120 gram 汤种 tangzhong
- 6 gram (2 teaspoon) instant dry yeast
- 35 gram butter, room temperature and cut into small pieces
- Extra whisked egg with a little water, for brushing
Method:
- Combine all ingredients (except butter) in the bowl of your electric mixer. With the dough hook attachment of your electric mixer, beat the ingredients until you get a dough shape and gluten has developed, then mix in the butter. The dough is ready when it starts pulling itself away from the side of the bowl.
- Knead the dough into a ball shape. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel or cling wrap. Let it proof till it’s doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Lightly punch down the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide it into 16 equal portions (each weighing about 45g), shaped into balls. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes.
- Flatten the dough, roll it out and add 1 tablespoon of char siew filling in the center. Gather dough to cover filling and pinch to seal. Shape filled dough and place it (seal side down) on a tray lined with baking paper or silicon mat. I gave the filled bun a tiny pinch at the top so it looks a little different (good if you are baking bread with different filling in them) but this is entirely optional. Cover with cling wrap or a wet towel and leave it for the 2nd round of proofing, about 45 to 60 minutes, until doubled in size.
- Brush egg wash on surface of buns and bake in a pre-heated 170°C oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
And and and … I’m overwhelmed with happiness! Two awards within a week! Sweet!
A huge, huge, HUGE THANK YOU to Chef Amy (Come Cook With Me) for nominating Cosy Bites for the Sunshine Blogger Award and to Winnie (Wokking it) for nominating this blog for the 7×7 Link Award. Check out Chef Amy’s blog for many great recipes (bound to make you hungry!) and Winnie’s blog for creative bentos that are just too cute to be eaten!
