Flaky Baked BBQ Pork Pastries
叉燒酥·(chā shāo sū)
Chapter 4: Char Siu, Fillings & The Tea Sauce Repertoire
You press the cold rolling pin forward, roll the laminated block flat, and fold the pastry over the diced roast char siu. We are doing the old-school xiao bao su method—a painstaking, individual lamination of water-oil dough and pure lard. It requires a Saturday morning of quiet, repetitive work. You put in the slow hours with the rolling pin, and the reward comes when that tray emerges lacquered and gleaming under your own kitchen lights. The moment the pastry shatters on the plate, you'll understand why the true believers show up at Yank Sing before the carts even roll.
Before you start
Sourcing your char siu.
If you aren't making your own char siu using the master recipe in Chapter 4, source a fatty cut like pork belly or shoulder from the hot deli section of your local Asian grocer to keep the filling appropriately succulent.
Temperature control is everything.
Lamination is highly sensitive to ambient temperature. If the kitchen is too warm and the dough starts to feel greasy or uncontrollably soft, place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up.
Ingredients
- neutral cooking oil1 tbsp
- yellow onion1/2 cup
- char siu250 g
- oyster sauce1 tbsp
- hoisin sauce1 tbsp
- light soy sauce1 tbsp
- dark soy sauce1 tsp
- granulated sugar1 tbsp
- toasted sesame oil1 tsp
- cornstarch1 tbsp
- all-purpose flour150 g
- powdered sugar15 g
- rendered pork lard50 g
- warm water65 g
- cake flour120 g
- rendered pork lard60 g
- unsalted butter20 g
- large egg yolk1
- white sesame seeds1 tbsp
- honey1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions until completely translucent.
We aren't looking for color here, just pure allium sweetness. Give it about 3 to 4 minutes.
- 02
Toss in the diced char siu to warm it through, then stir in the oyster sauce, hoisin, soy sauces, sugar, and sesame oil.
- 03
Pour the cornstarch slurry into the simmering pork mixture and stir continuously until it transforms into a thick, glossy paste.
This highly gelatinized viscosity is critical. If the filling is too watery, it will turn to steam and rupture your delicate pastry layers in the oven.
- 04
Transfer the filling to a shallow container, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
The mixture must be stone-cold before assembly, or the ambient heat will melt the lard in the raw dough and destroy your lamination.
- 05
In a mixer or by hand, aggressively knead the all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, 50g lard, and warm water for 10 to 15 minutes.
You need significant gluten development here—the water-oil dough must be incredibly smooth and extensible so it won't tear during lamination. Wrap it tightly in plastic and rest for 30 minutes.
- 06
Using your fingertips or a bench scraper, cut the cake flour, 60g lard, and 20g butter together until it forms a smooth, pliable paste.
If the oil dough feels too crumbly, the warmth of your hands will bring it together until it feels like playdough. Wrap it in plastic.
- 07
Divide both doughs into 12 equal-weight balls, then flatten a water-oil dough ball, place an oil dough ball in the center, and pinch it completely shut.
Keep everything covered under a damp towel. Use the webbing of your thumb and index finger to gently ease the outer dough up and over the fat core without trapping air.
- 08
Place a sealed dough ball seam-side down, gently roll it away from you into a 4-inch oval, then tightly roll it up from the top edge into a short cylinder.
Rest these cylinders under a damp towel for 15 minutes to let the gluten relax before the next roll.
- 09
Turn a cylinder vertically so the seam faces up, press it flat, roll it into a longer rectangle, and coil it up again.
Rest the final coils under a damp towel for another 15 minutes. This xiao bao su method is laborious, but it guarantees the spectacular, shattering layers of a true teahouse pastry.
- 10
Press your thumb into the center of a rested coil, bring the two ends upward to meet, press the dough flat, and roll it outwards into a circle with slightly thinner edges.
- 11
Place a generous tablespoon of chilled char siu filling in the center, fold the dough over into a half-moon, and pinch the edges firmly before crimping aggressively with a fork.
You can dab a tiny amount of water on the inside rim if it resists sticking. The tight seal ensures the expanding filling does not breach the pastry walls.
- 12
Preheat the oven to 400°F and brush the pastries evenly with egg wash, repeating after 5 minutes for a lacquered finish, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes to rapidly melt the fat and puff the layers, then lower the heat to 350°F and bake 15 to 20 minutes until deeply golden brown.
- 13
Immediately upon removing the pan from the oven, lightly brush the hot pastries with the honey-water simple syrup.
This final glaze provides that signature sticky, sweet sheen found in the top-tier dim sum houses. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
The Science of the Shatter.
Gluten provides elasticity, and fat provides shortness. By painstakingly layering the extensible water dough and the short oil dough, you create hundreds of tiny balloons separated by fat. In the oven, water turns to steam and inflates them, while the fat melts and fries the layers apart.
Double up your baking sheets.
Stack two baking sheets on top of each other. The pocket of air acts as an insulator, preventing the delicate pastry bottoms from burning before the tops achieve the desired golden color.
From Cook Dim Sum at Home.