Chinese BBQ Pork Buns + Halal, Vegetarian & Kosher Filling Options (Char Siu Bao)

Here are my famous Chinese BBQ Pork Buns. Growing up, these were my favourite thing to get from the Asian bakery. Everything here is from scratch, including the BBQ pork itself. The bread is so soft and fluffy. The filling inside is juicy and flavourful — savoury and just a bit sweet.

For my halal, vegetarian (lacto-ovo), and kosher friends, I've also created two alternative fillings: one with chicken, and the other with mushroom. They have the same flavours as the classic filling but are delicious in their own right. The chicken is super succulent and tender. The mushroom is full of earthy umami flavour. If you've never been able to try a Chinese BBQ bun before, hopefully now you'll be able to!
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I competed in The Great Canadian Baking Show season 4, a spin-off of Great British Bake Off! It was simultaneously the hardest and most fun thing I've ever done.

https://www.cbc.ca/life/greatcanadian...

The show is a celebration of food, bringing together 10 amateur bakers from all across Canada. It's the most wholesome cooking program ever, full of joyful moments and successes. If you'd like to check out the show and see how I progress in the competition, there are a few ways you can watch:

The show is available to stream for Canadians (for free) on CBC Gem:
https://gem.cbc.ca/media/the-great-ca...

Also available to stream on Netflix Canada!

For people outside of Canada, you can either use a VPN to access CBC Gem or there may be streams available online if you google "Great Canadian Baking Show s04e01"
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Come say hi on Instagram! I share lots of behind the scenes stories and more casual content:
  / sheldoskitchen  
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** CHINESE BBQ PORK BUN RECIPE **

The detailed written recipe is too long to include in this caption, so I've included the ingredient list below.

Full recipe can be found here:
https://sheldoskitchen.notion.site/Ba...

Tangzhong
40g (4 tbsp) bread flour
255mL / 255g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) milk

Dough
56g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
1 egg
50g (4 tbsp) sugar
14g (2 tbsp) milk powder (optional)
6g (1 tsp) fine sea salt / table salt
350g (2-1/2 cups) bread flour
8g (1 packet / 2 tsp) instant yeast

Meat
1 lb (454g) pork shoulder (butt) OR skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp (15g) water
1/2 tsp (3g) fine sea salt / table salt
1 tbsp (10g) cornstarch
1 tbsp (13g) neutral oil

Mushroom
5-6 large dried shiitake mushrooms
1 lb (454g) fresh mushrooms (shiitake, cremini, portobello)
1/2 tsp (3g) fine sea salt / table salt
1 tbsp (13g) neutral oil

Chinese BBQ Marinade
3 tbsp (60g) honey
1 tbsp (20g) hoisin
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
1/8 tsp white pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp (15g) Shaoxing cooking wine (optional: if not using, add 1-1/2 tsp soy sauce)
1 tbsp (15g) light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

Filling Base
15g (1-1/2 tbsp) cornstarch
15g (1-1/2 tbsp) potato starch (optional, sub: cornstarch)
50g (50mL) water

20g (1 tbsp) honey
1 tbsp (15g) light soy sauce
1 tsp (4g) sesame oil
20g (1 tbsp) hoisin
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder (sub: 1/4 tsp MSG or 1/4 tsp salt)
1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
150mL (150g) water / mushroom broth

1/2 medium onion, finely diced (~100g)
1” (15g) ginger, finely minced (~1 tbsp minced)
2 tbsp (26g) neutral oil (1/2 for cooking onions, 1/2 for adding after)

Egg Wash
1 egg
Splash of cream or milk
Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

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CHAPTERS
00:00 Bread Week - Great Canadian Baking Show (season 4)
00:27 Intro
01:36 Recipe Starts (Tangzhong)
02:24 Make Dough
04:08 Start Filling
04:33 Chinese BBQ Marinade
05:24 What Meat?
05:54 Pork & Chicken
06:29 Tenderize & Marinate Meat
08:05 Cook Meat
09:12 Mushroom Filling
10:57 Filling Base
12:40 Shape Buns
15:12 Egg Wash
15:35 Bake Buns
16:06 Hot Buns
16:51 Outro