Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)

I signed up here purely to offer a review. I/We love this recipe & thank-you for it ⭐ it's simple & works. I made the dough , leaving yeast to activate as per recipe in bowl1 & I threw some cooked left over pork belly from last night's meal (removing crackle) in bowl2 FYI was less than the amount in the recipe stil its an awesome way to use leftovers:) which works brilliantly, then adding all the marinade as suggested subbing, plain white vinegar, ginger in a jar, to meat stir then returned to bubbly yeast adding all the dough ingredients incl baking powder (sorry:) FYI I simplify anything & everything possible & I'm 120% sure the recipe without changing would stil be outstanding👍It doubled+within an hour in my hot water cupboard. After which I just punched it & headed straight to filling & steaming without resting in a steel steamer lined with baking paper voila :) Dinner sorted for 4. My 3 year old son enjoyed an entire bun while I devoured each bite!!! YUM YUM & YUM. It IS an absolutely delicious recipe which ended up looking like I bought it from the store only tasting better so WOW!!!! Thank-you for making my life a little bit easier & bringing smiles to my Whanau (family)
Ae, Kia Ora

I did not realize that I could make commercial-style steam buns at home - the dough texture is perfect! We have made them twice now. We reduced the sugar by half in the dough and cut out the extra salt in the filling - this recipe has plenty of sodium "as is." One piece of advice: Do not roll out the tiny dough balls and fill them until you are ready to put them in the steamer, because the buns rise quickly. I definitely recommend this recipe to others.

 The flavor of this recipe is unbelievable. I used ground pork instead of tenderloin, and used 1/4 tsp of ground ginger instead of fresh, because I can never use a whole ginger root, but otherwise I followed the directions and the recipe came out PERFECTLY. I was really skeptical about steaming dough; I thought for sure it would be a soggy mess, but 15 minutes in the steamer and the buns came out done. They had a texture similar to a soft pretzel, and the buns were overall succulent and delicious. I will be making this one again and again! 

Made this after watching a Jamie Oliver show on how to use leftover pulled pork. Took others recommendations to use some wheat flour to get some extra fiber and they turned great. There is a lot of work in making these from scratch if your not an astute baker, but a nice treat. Even better if you make extras ahead and put them in the freezer ready to go.

Love it!! I usually use ground pork or turkey because its cheaper than tenderloin. This time I also used half WW flour. These are great to freeze and reheat later!!

These were delicious. I used a steamer insert in my spaghetti pot, and my electric steamer instead of a bamboo steamer. Instead of the pork tenderloin, I used 2 1/2 cups leftover Slow Cooker Char Siu Pork Roast from Cooking Light, March 2006. We had five for dinner, and the other five are in the freezer for another night. It was very time consuming, but worth the effort once in a while.

Unbelievably good! I use prepared pizza dough from our grocery store deli to make it easier and faster. Also, we don't have a bamboo steamer but our veggie steamer works just fine. My niece has used chicken instead of pork and those were delicious too.

Delicious! I added 4 oz of whole wheat flour and you could hardly tell it was there. These are simply wonderful. Perfect addition to a dim sum brunch at home.

I have to admit - I was skeptical about the steaming aspect of these. I was going to just bake them. But I'm glad I tried it - they were awesome! I steamed them a little longer than specified. The only other changes I made were to use some dough that I had already made and stored in the fridge (it was dough made with semolina for italian bread) instead of the dough in the recipe. I also roasted the pork tenderloin for about 30 min at 425 instead of pan-grilling it. Delicious!! Can't recommend enough. Also used a metal steamer basket sprayed with cooking spray rather than a bamboo steamer. I served with sushi rice cooked with soy sauce, ginger and garlic and asparagus roasted with sesame oil, salt, pepper, garlic and soy sauce. Awesome meal.

We just heated up some buns we had frozen from when we made them a few months ago. They tasted as good as the day we made them, and it really only took 20 minutes to cook them (from frozen). This is such a great recipe. I can't wait to make it again, and maybe put a different twist on the filling.

Grilled pork and pulled when cooled for recipe. Sprayed electric steamer basket with Pam as others suggested. Doubles in size--very filling and delicious!

The first time I made these I was in a rush and misread the recipe, didn't allow the dough to rise, and added b. powder at the wrong time. They still came out great and are now a family favorite. It is much easier and faster to brown ground turkey and add the spices mentioned and we like the taste better. I steam them in a pasta cooker sprayed with Pam and have had no problem with sticking. I also make them smaller and freeze the ones that won't fit in the steamer. It makes a great snack or quick supper. Highly recommended.

I have made this several times now. You can use 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour without changing the texture. I used 3% fat ground turkey. Use a 6" tortilla press to make perfect dough rounds. You don't need to grease the press, once the dough is flatten on the press, put the meat mixture on and gather to edges while it is on the press.

This is a great recipe. I have made this several times and my kids love these. They are so convenient to pop out of the freezer when needed and steam for a delicious healthy snack/meal. I roast the pork which makes clean up a litle easier.

I like this dish very much. I just think that my dough needed more water, because it was very dry. But I didn't add more. I just follow the instructions and at the end turn really well. But I think next time, I'll add more water, because it was a really work out to knead that dough.

These are amazing and very simple to make. I don't have a bamboo steamer, so used the pot I make chili in, stuck a water filled measuring cup in (1 cup size), and water to the pot up to about three quarters the height of the cup, and then put an articulated metal vegetable steamer on top, started the water to boil, added the bao and covered with the pot top. Worked great. Followed the recipe exactly; pork with spices tasted great! But I can imagine chicken and potato curry bao, or barbecue chicken bao ... my husband and I visited the Czech Republic a few weeks ago and they have these yummy fruit filled dumplings that seem very similar to bao, so maybe as a dessert too.

These were very good. I'm surprised that no one has suggested making them a half or a quarter of their size. The dough is so filling that it's difficult to finish one. I used ground turkey breast instead of pork. The ingredients in the meat mixture are very tasty. I served them with a purchased spicy dumpling sauce. The dumplings steamed very well. The timing of 15 minutes was perfect.

These pork buns were much easier to make than expected. You could alter the filling easily for variety. The bamboo steamer is a must though. We tried to use a metal steamer and it was time consuming and the buns stuck.

I would make this again, the buns are as good as the ones I get in Chinatown. I used ground turkey and it tasted good. I sauteed the meat mixture in a pan and added 1 TBS of flour to thicken. On my next try, I will use some white whole wheat flour (1 cup to start) and see if that will work. You can use any type of meat mixture, try curry, barbecue...

These were great! Better than what I had at the market. I used ground turkey instead of pork and yellow onions instead of green, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I too bought a bamboo steamer just so I could make these and feed my cravings for the steamed pork buns. I can imagine making this with different stuffings...bacon cheeseburger filling would be great. Very good and filling. I served with a spinach salad with mushrooms and grated carrot with an "asian silk" dressing.

So delicious. They freeze very well and cook pretty quickly. The only problem might be that they're too delicious and hard not to overindulge in.

We love these and like another reader, I went and bought a steamer for this recipe. They are really filling and I can only eat 1/2 with a stir fry...

Much easier than I expected and they looked fantastic - presentation was even better than the photo. I'm definitely looking forward to making them for guests sometime.