''Cha siu bao'' () is a

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

'' baozi'' (bun) filled with barbecue-flavored ''cha siu'' pork.Hsiung, Deh-Ta. Simonds, Nina. Lowe, Jason. 005 ''The Food of China: A Journey for Food Lovers''. Bay Books. . p. 24. They are served as a type of dim sum during '' yum cha'' and are sometimes sold in Chinese bakeries.''

Varieties

There are two major kinds of ''cha siu bao'': the traditional steamed version is called () or simply (), while the baked variety is usually called (). Steamed ''cha siu bao'' has a white exterior, while the baked variety is browned glazed.

Cantonese cuisine

03 Steamed Roast Pork Bun - M Noodle Shop

Although visually similar to other types of steamed '' baozi'', the dough of steamed ''cha siu bao'' is unique since it makes use of both

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

and baking powder as leavening. This unique mix of leavening gives the dough of ''cha siu bao'' the texture of a slightly dense, but fine soft bread. Tangzhong, a water roux, is sometimes used to keep the bread soft over long periods of time and aids in improving the texture of the bao. An alternative version of the steamed char siu bao is a baked version. While the dough is very similar, the baked char siu bao is more similar to a baked bun with the same ''char siu'' filling. It is often coated with an egg and sugar wash before baking, resulting in a slightly sweeter, more bready char siu bao. Encased in the center of the bun is tender, sweet, slow-roasted pork tenderloin. This ''cha siu'' is diced, and then mixed into a syrupy mixture of oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, roasted sesame seed oil, rice vinegar, shaoxing wine or dry

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, sugar, and cornstarch.

Philippine cuisine

''Siopao'' (; ), literally meaning "hot bun", is the Philippine indigenized version of baozi. A common variant of the ''siopao'', the ''siopao asado'', is derived from the ''char siu bao'' and has a filling ('' asado'') which uses similar ingredients to '' char siu''. It differs in that the Filipino ''asado'' is a braised dish, not grilled, and is more similar in cooking style to the Hokkien '' tau yu bak'' (). It is slightly sweeter than ''char siu'' and can also be cooked with chicken. ''Siopao'' is also typically much larger than the ''char siu bao'' or the ''baozi''.

Polynesian cuisine

At the invitation of the European powers, the Chinese were recruited as indentured laborers throughout in the Pacific to work on sugar plantations starting in the mid-1800s. Chinese immigrants brought with them foods such as ''char siu bao'' which they adapted to their new location. In Hawaiian cuisine, it is called ''manapua''. Hawaiian pidgin for "delicious pork thing". In

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, the item is referred to as ''keke pua'a'', literally meaning "pig cake". In

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

, they are called ''chao pao''.

Vietnamese cuisine

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, the item is called ''xíu páo''. It originally came from Guangdong and Chaozhou following a fairly large overseas Chinese community living in Hakka street in Nam Dinh, Vietnam. Ingredients for baking mainly include flour, meat, eggs, flour, lard and some typical spices depending on the family recipe. To make delicious cakes, people often marinate pork tenderloin with minced garlic, fivespice, oyster oil, honey and then baked until it turns golden brown and is fragrant. Char siu meat is diced and mixed with wood ear mushroom, pork fat and a whole boiled quail egg, with the addition of a salted egg yolk in some variants. The word "xíu páo" is considered to be transliterated Cantonese or Hokkien.

References