Siopao Asado
Homemade Filipino siopao asado with fluffy steamed dough and sweet soy pork filling.
Serves 10 · 1h 30m total
The Story
Siopao is the Filipino steamed bun that Chinese bakeries taught the islands and then sweetened. Asado filling is pork cooked down with soy and sugar until it is sticky, not saucy like adobo and not dry like siomai.
A good bun is white, slightly shiny, and tears in cottony layers. A bad bun is yellow, dense, and tastes like underproofed bread. The filling should stay inside when you bite, with a little sauce, not a flood.
This is merienda next to beef mami, or the thing you bring home in a plastic bag that fogs up the motorcycle ride.
Best paired with
Beef mami, hot tea, or bottled soda.
Use it in these KusinaPH recipes
Lola's Tips
- ✦Proof the dough until it is puffy; rushing makes tight buns.
- ✦Leave a little headspace when sealing so the bun can expand.
- ✦Line the steamer with parchment so the bottoms do not stick.
- ✦Do not open the steamer in the first 12 minutes or the buns collapse.
Substitutions
- pork shoulder → pork kasim, finely chopped
- brown sugar → white sugar plus a drop of molasses
- oyster sauce → extra soy sauce
Ingredients
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Instructions
- 1
Make the dough: mix flour, sugar, yeast, and baking powder. Stir in warm milk and oil until a soft dough forms. Knead 8 minutes until smooth. Cover and proof 45 minutes until doubled.
- 2
Make the filling: heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Saute garlic and onion. Add pork and cook until no longer pink. Stir in soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup water. Simmer 12 minutes. Mix cornstarch with 1 tbsp water, stir in, and cook until the sauce is thick and sticky. Cool completely.
- 3
Punch down the dough and divide into 10 balls. Flatten each into a 10 cm disc, thicker in the center. Spoon filling in the middle, pinch the edges to seal, and set seam-side down on parchment squares.
- 4
Rest the filled buns 15 minutes. Steam over boiling water 15 to 18 minutes. Turn off heat and wait 3 minutes before opening the lid.
- 5
Serve hot. Leftovers reheat 5 minutes in a steamer.
Kitchen Timer · 40 min prep first
50:00
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