Bbq Pork Pastry (3) 蜜汁叉烧酥 Recipe
Flaky pastry filled with tender pork in a sweet BBQ sauce.
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Ingredients
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Char Siu (BBQ Pork) Filling
Water & Oil Dough (Pastry)
Assembly & Finishing
Method
Char Siu (BBQ Pork) Filling
- 1
Prepare the marinade
In a bowl combine hoisin sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, Shaoxing wine, sugar, five-spice powder, sesame oil, minced garlic, and white pepper. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth.
- 2
Marinate the pork
Add the cubed pork shoulder to the marinade, toss to coat thoroughly, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to 4 hours for deeper flavor).
- 3
Sear and braise the pork
Preheat a skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. Drain excess marinade from the pork (reserve the marinade). Sear the pork cubes in batches until browned on all sides, about 3–4 minutes per batch. Return all pork to the pan, pour the reserved marinade over, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer gently for 10–12 minutes until pork is tender and liquid has reduced slightly.
- 4
Thicken the filling
Mix the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. With the pan uncovered and heat on medium, stir in the slurry and cook for 1–2 minutes until sauce becomes glossy and coats the pork. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Chop pork into finer bite-sized pieces if desired (about 5–7 mm).
Water & Oil Dough (Pastry)
- 5
Make the water dough
In a bowl, combine 140 g flour, 20 g sugar, and 0.25 tsp salt. Rub in 60 g chilled lard with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 70 ml warm water gradually and mix to form a smooth, supple dough. Knead briefly (about 1–2 minutes) until cohesive. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 20 minutes at room temperature.
- 6
Make the oil dough
In a separate bowl, combine 90 g flour and 60 g softened lard. Mix until it forms a smooth pliable dough (it will be oilier). Shape into a log, cover, and let rest 20 minutes at room temperature alongside the water dough.
- 7
Laminate and create layers
Divide each dough into three equal portions (you'll use three outer pastries). Working with one portion at a time, roll a water dough piece into a flat oval about 4 mm thick. Place an oil dough piece in the center, fold the water dough over to seal, then gently roll into an oval and fold in thirds (letter fold). Rotate 90°, roll again gently into an oval, and perform one more fold. Wrap and rest the parcel 15 minutes. Repeat for remaining portions. This layering creates the flaky laminated texture typical of Chinese pastry.
- 8
Portion pastry rounds
After resting, roll each laminated parcel into a log and cut each into three equal pieces (you should have three pastry rounds for three pastries). Roll each piece into a ball and flatten slightly with a rolling pin into a disc about 10–12 cm in diameter, dusting lightly with flour as needed.
Assembly & Finishing
- 9
Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 10
Assemble pastries
Place about 100–115 grams (roughly 1/3 of the cooled filling) of the chopped char siu filling in the center of each flattened pastry disc. Bring the pastry edges up and pleat or pinch to fully enclose the filling, forming a round parcel. Make sure seams are sealed and the parcel sits seam-side down on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- 11
Egg wash and sesame seeds
Beat the egg with 1 tsp water to make an egg wash. Brush the top of each pastry lightly with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds on top if using.
- 12
Bake
Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Rotate the tray halfway through baking for even color.
- 13
- 14
Cool and serve
Let pastries cool on a rack for 5–10 minutes to allow filling to set slightly, then serve warm as dim sum.
