Happy Holidays! Are you ready to celebrate? What are your family traditions?
In my house we eat Chinese food and go to the movies on Christmas day. I always found it ironic that was the food of our choice considering all the good Chinese food contains pork and shrimp. Not exactly kosher 🙂
On the years that Chanukah actually fell out on Christmas, Mom would cook up a big feast for us. Turkey, brisket, latkes. Those were the times it wasn’t so lonely being a Jew on Christmas.
Since last year, I started making my own Chinese food feasts! Takeout is great when you are feeling lazy and want dinner in 15 minutes or less but nothing and I mean nothing beats homemade Chinese food. Sure it takes a lot more time, but it is totally worth it.
One thing that I can’t get with takeout, that I love more than anything is dim sum. So in my “Jewish Christmas” tradition, I’ve made perhaps the best dim sum dish ever. Char Siu Bao.
Unfamiliar with the dish? Char Siu means the roast pork filling and Bao refers to it being a bun. Since I’m still fairly new to Chinese cooking, I took to the web to find a recipe for the buns. I was looking for something that bring me light, yeasty, airy buns – the perfect accompaniment to my sticky, sweet roast pork. In the end my bao might not look like the ones you find on the street, but still delicious and light! It’s all I can ask for the first time making them!
Below is the recipe for the char siu and sauce for the filling. For the bao recipe, visit She Simmers.
There are many components to making char siu bao - you must let your pork rest in the marinade, proof your bao dough and then steam the buns. The end result is completely worth it though. Traditionally the filling is tinted bright red, feel free to add some drops of red food coloring for a little holiday cheer.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork loin, excess fat removed, cut into 3 pieces lengthwise
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons ginger, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
- a few dashes of white pepper
- 2 cups prepared roast pork, cut into 1/2 inch dice
- 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 3 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- a few dashes of white pepper
- Equipment needed: parchment paper cut into 3x3 squares and bamboo steamer
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the hoisin, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, five spice powder and white pepper.
- Place the pork loin in a resealable ziplock bag an pour the marinade in. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Remove the pork loin from the marinade and place on a aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from oven and increase the temperature to 450 degrees F.
- Using the reserve marinade or 1/4 cup honey brush over the top of the pork.
- Place back in the oven and cook for 15 additional minutes or until the center reaches 165 degrees and a nice crust is achieved.
- Let cool slightly, before dicing. You will not use all the pork. Reserve additional for another purpose.
- Roll the bao dough into a log and cut into 12 pieces. Take each piece and flatten it a bit with your hand forming a circle.
- Spoon 1 to 1/2 tablespoons of filling (careful not to overfill) onto the dough and bring up the edges, pinching at the top to seal. Place on a square of parchment paper and repeat.
- Let the prepared buns rise for 30 more minutes.
- Pre-heat your steamer and place the buns in the steamer, careful not to overcrowd (depending on the size, 4 at a time is best).
- Steam for 15 minutes and enjoy!
Don’t forget to check out what the recipe of the #SundaySupper team has cooked up for your holiday inspiration!
Breakfast
- Eggs Benedict by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Holiday Cream Cheese Tea Ring by That Skinny Chick can Bake
- Orange Refrigerator Rolls by The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake by Small Wallet Big Appetite
Appetizers & Snacks
- Chicken Liver Pate by Tora’s Real Food
- Bindaetteok {Mung Bean Pancakes} by Kimchi Mom
- Crab and Asparagus Soup by The Urban Mrs.
Sides
- Potato Salad {Schwaebischer Kartoffelsalat} by Galactopdx
- Italian Orange Salad by Shockingly Delicious
- Sweet Potato Casserole by Magnolia Days
- Carrots au gratin by Juanitas Cocina
Main Dishes
- Char Siu Bao – Chinese Roast Pork Buns by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Savory Crepe Cake by Vintage Kitchen
- West Indian Curried Goat by The ROXX Box
- Pot Cheese and Potato Cheese Pierogies by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
- Seafood Gumbo and Grilled Oysters: A Louisiana Christmas Tradition by the Catholic Foodie
- Mom’s Paella by What Smells So Good?
- Portuguese inspired Chorizo Crown Pork Roast by Family Foodie
- Dorie’s Chicken in a Pot by Gotta Get Baked
- New Year’s Eve Buckwheat Noodles with Mochi by The Ninja Baker
- Mile High Lasagna by Cravings of a Lunatic
- Crab Cakes for Christmas Eve by Daddy Knows Less
Desserts
- Pizzelles {Italian Wafer Cookies} by Chocolate Moosey
- Fudge by Dinner Dishes and Desserts
- Crescent Cookies by Cookistry
- Christmas Stollen by Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
- Pfeffernussen by The Foodie Army Wife
- Creme De Menthe Cake by I Run for Wine
- Panettone Bread Pudding by the Country Girl in the Village
- Spiced Gingerbread Gooey Butter Cake | A twist on a St. Louis Favorite by Daily Dish Recipes
- Chocolate Gingerbread Cake with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting by Crispy Bits and Burnt Ends
- Jamaican Christmas Pudding by Lovely Pantry
- White Chocolate Cranberry Santa Cookies by Mooshu Jenne
- Christmas Tree Cookies by Damn Delicious
- Old Fashioned Lady Fingers {Creamhorns} by The Meltaways
- Rose Milk Almond Falooda {Indian Dessert Drink} by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
Drinks
- Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
- Cinnamon Infused Hot Chocolate with Southern Comfort Whipped Cream by Mama Mommy Mom
The posts are more than recipes. They are also wonderful stories of holidays and traditions. Please take the time to visit and read each heartwarming one.
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Simply amazing!!!
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Oh my goodness! These look FABulous! It has been such a pleasure getting to know you this past year! Thank you for being such a big part of #SundaySupper! Happy Holidays to you!
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This is a wowser of a recipe! I want to be eating this tonight…I can’t wait for Christmas!
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My wife wants to move in with you.
Oh yummy!! I just made crock pot char siu for the first time and it was delicious. I bet these little buns are delicious.
yum, yum, YUM.
your baos look pretty perfect. i’m not sure how i would do with the dough, but i’ll have to give it a try. these will be great for new year’s!
(i left a comment on triberr, but thought i’d leave another one here!)
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I love that you celebrate a “Jewish Christmas” with delectable foods like your pork buns! They look amazing!!!
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Wow, wish I had a few holiday meals with you guys, I love this stuff!
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I never made these, but they look great, with a lot more filling than other recipes! Your mother´s jewish christmas sounds great with all those dishes. Have a great holiday celebration!
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I love, love, love dim sum. I have not been impressed with the Chinese food in the UK so I have been sticking to making it at home so I will defenitly put these on the menu.
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Oh how I love dim sum. It’s something I’ve only had when I visited San Francisco. There are not any places to get it near my home. I’ve always loved the meat-filled steamed buns and never knew how to make them. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
YUMMY! If I learned how to make these at home, my boyfriend may marry me lol. He is obsessed with bao buns.
These are totally on my bucket list!!
Susan, I am really impressed! I’m Chinese and I’ve never attempted to make char sui bao (I’ll just go out and eat it or buy the frozen stuff to steam at home). These look incredible – labour intensive but definitely worth it. Happy holidays – I hope they were filled with delicious food such as this!
I have been dieing to read this recipe since you posted it. I tried making my own bao once and it was a yeasty mess. Did you buy the bao dough? I don’t see a recipe for the bao. Just curious! The filling sounds amazing! Happy New Year Susan!
I linked to the bao dough recipe just before my recipe comes up since it wasn’t mine. 🙂 I’m not crafty enough to figure that out myself! Mine didn’t come out as pretty as the original recipe, but I think I overworked the dough. hmmm. . might have to check around Chinatown to see if I can buy the bao dough!
These look incredible! I love the spices in it!