Siopao Asado

Siopao Asado is a filipino version of Chinese steamed dumplings with a sweet pork filling. Siopao is a Hokkien term for bāozi which means steamed buns. In Thailand it is called Salapao and in Philippines it's called Siopao. It is definitely one of my favorite snacks when I was in the Philippines. Coming home from work late afternoon, I remember my Dad would bring home some siopao for snack and this will fill us up until dinner time. The recipe I found online didn't include hard boiled eggs but I remember vaguely that that's my favorite "bonus" filling in my snack, so I made sure to add it in our home-made Siopao.

My little chef is too eager to start with the dough and I kept telling him that the filling has to come first.  But before we start, I explained to him our kitchen safety rules and most importantly, our work area & counter must be thoroughly cleaned and our hands as well.

Sweet Pork Filling Ingredients

2 lbs pork, cut into small pieces
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 large red onion, minced
1 tsp cornstarch, diluted in 1/4 cup water
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce 

Dough Ingredients

Yeast-sugar-water mixture

2 cups warm water
1 pouch dry yeast
2 ½ tbsp sugar 

Flour Mixture

½ cup sugar 
5½  cups all purpose flour
1 ¼ tbsp baking powder
6 tbsp shortening

Let's cook the filling shall we?...

• Heat cooking oil in pan.
• Saute the garlic and onions.
• Add pork and cook until the color of the outer part turns light brown.
• Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, Hoisin sauce, and sugar then mix well.
• Simmer for 40 minutes or until meat is tender.
• Add Diluted cornstarch in water and mix until sauce becomes thick
• Turn off heat, Set aside.

Now, it's time to make the dough...

• To make the dough, first prepare the 2 cups of warm water in a bowl then add the yeast and sugar and mix well.

• Leave the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes

• In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, shortening and the yeast mixture and mix thoroughly

• Knead the dough until it becomes fine.
• Set aside for an hour in the mixing bowl and cover.

• Knead the dough again and make form a tire shape then cut into individual slices
• Form the cut dough into a ball and flatten using the rolling pin.
• Put a spoonful of the Asado filling in the middle of the flattened dough and pinch the edges until sealed on top.

• Put a wax paper underneath and place it in the steamer.

• Steam for 15 minutes. Do not crowd the Siopao. They will rise and become bigger after steaming.

By the way, this is not my recipe. I made few tweaks to the original recipe I got from Panlasang Pinoy website to make it work for me. I reduce the sugar and oyster sauce and added more flour since it was too soft and sticky. You can definitely adjust size and change meat-filling as well. Freeze left-overs. So whenever you crave for it, just pop one in the microwave! :)ENJOY!