Baked Siopao Asado

GOLDEN SIOPAO

It was one of those boring days. The weather was rather dim, gray and too cold for June. It's suppose to be summer but temperature  never rises above 12° C! Although I was looking for a nice excuse to go out and get some Vit. D, I simply could not step out of the house  without the fear of catching a cold . With icy wind blowing wildly and fat rain drops soaking up everything it touches, I end up staying at home instead.What a lousy time to have a day off!  To make myself productive , I decided to do some experiments in the kitchen instead. After hours of cooking, kneading and baking, I was quite happy with the product of my hard labor. It  was a very rewarding day after all . I wouldn't mind another sunless and rainy days again, as long as I have enough of these treats in my kitchen!

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain, says Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and I could not agree more. However, such a dreary weather often calls for something homemade and  warm that would give a sense of coziness and a freshly baked ,pipping hot bun with succulent meat and delicious sauce is a perfect example for that. My 3 cent opinion. It's almost as cozy as hot chocolate on a snowy day.

First step, make the filling.  Leftover adobo could be a nice alternative, just shred the meat or chop it finely, toss it in its sauce and it's ready to go. Since I have all the time in the world ( or a least enough time to make these), I decided to make asado filling from scratch. Here's how I did it.

Pork Asado Filling:

Heat a bit of oil in a pan, saute 1 medium sized finely chopped onion until translucent. Add in 3 gloves of finely chopped garlic until aromatic. After a minute or two, as in 400 g pork ( cubed) . I used pork neck. The pork neck is a well muscled and very flavorful cut of meat, with a lot more fat than the pork shoulder, and yet still a lot less fat than the pork belly. Just enough fat to keep the asado dish juicy. After browning the meat, season it with salt and pepper. Add in soy sauce, hoisin sauce and oyster sauce. Stir frequently. Add in two bay leaves and about half a tsp. of powdered anise and about 2 tbsp of brown sugar. Pour about half a cup of water, cover and turn heat to low. Cook until meat is tender and the liquid almost evaporated. Set aside and cool off completely.

  

                                          

Since I am perfectly happy with the siopao dough recipe  that I used in previous Siopao experiment, I don't see any reason why I should alter it. Make the dough as instructed here. Divide dough into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and cover. for about 15 minutes.

   

          

 Flatten each piece using a rolling pin. Place 1 heaping  of Pork asado  filling in the center or as much as the dough could handle. It's your siopao so fill it up good! Gather edges of circle over the filling, twist and pinch edges together to seal. Place buns seam side down few inches apart in a baking sheet. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 mins. Beat 1 egg yolk and about 4 tablespoon of milk together. Brush each bun with egg wash. Bake siopao in a preheated oven at 180°c for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
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Smooth  as a baby's bottom!
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Almost crunchy exterior with light and fluffy dough insides that blends wonderfully well with the savory and tasty filling.
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Ridiculously yummy! It tasted even better that steamed siopao!  I ate until I could  eat no more. It certainly made my gloomy day , a holiday! (^_^)