Steamed Char Siu Bao

Steamed char siu bao (chāshāo bāo) is one of the canonical items of Cantonese dim sum — present at essentially every yum cha table alongside har gow and siu mai, and one of the items against which a kitchen's overall standard is often judged. It should not be confused with the baked version (gūk chāshāo bāo), which has a glazed, slightly sweet brown crust and is a different food in both texture and flavour.

The steamed version begins with a leavened wheat-flour dough enriched with a small amount of lard (which gives the finished bun its gloss and tender crumb) and a little sugar. After proofing, the dough is divided, flattened and wrapped around a portion of char siu filling. The wrapping and pleating seal the top of the bun, but during steaming this seal opens in a distinctive three-petal crack — a quality marker that experienced dim sum diners look for. The crack should be symmetrical and open to reveal the filling at the centre. A bun that fails to crack indicates under-leavening or incorrect steaming temperature.

The filling is diced char siu — Cantonese barbecued pork, ideally with visible fat threads and caramelised char edges — combined with a sauce of oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce and a starch thickener. The sauce is sweet, sticky and savoury. The filling-to-dough ratio should favour the filling; an oversized dough shell is a common failing at volume-production kitchens.

Steamed char siu bao are served three to a bamboo steamer basket. They are eaten from the cracked top down, moving from the bread-dominant portion to the filling-heavy base. Quality depends equally on the freshness and flavour of the char siu and the airiness of the dough.