I’ve made these Chinese BBQ Pork Steamed Buns before, many times and always a hit, but tonight I decided to make them again — with a few changes to use up what I had in the fridge.
And let me tell you… they were just as delicious the second time around! ❤️
The original recipe is from Marion’s Kitchen, but tonight I used some of our leftover smoked pork ribs that we cooked last weekend, along with a couple of sauces I already had in the fridge.
Waste not, want not, right? 😉
The Dough
The recipe calls for low-gluten flour, such as cake flour, but I didn’t have any on hand.
So, I made my own substitute using plain flour and arrowroot.
For every 150g of plain flour (roughly 1 cup), I removed 2 tablespoons of flour and replaced it with 2 tablespoons of arrowroot. You can also use cornflour/cornstarch.
I combined the flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast, water and vegetable oil and mixed it all together until I had a smooth, springy dough.
The dough needs a good 10 minutes of kneading, then I left it to rest for around 20 minutes.
The Filling
While the dough was resting, I got stuck into the filling.
I heated some avocado oil in a pan and added finely diced onion, chopped garlic and a pinch of salt. Once softened, I added the leftover smoked pork ribs, which I’d removed from the bones and chopped into small pieces.
And instead of using the char siu sauce from the original recipe, I decided to use up a couple of sauces I already had sitting in the fridge.
I added:
🥢 ¼ cup Japanese BBQ sauce
🥢 ¼ cup Japanese marinade sauce
🥢 Soy sauce
🥢 A little sugar
🥢 Water
Everything was mixed together and allowed to simmer for a few minutes so all those flavours could come together.
I then stirred through the cornflour and water mixture to thicken the filling.
Once thickened, I popped the filling into a bowl and into the fridge to cool down while I went back to the dough.
Making the Buns
This is probably the most fiddly part.
I rolled the dough out into a rough rectangle, folded it in half and rolled it out again. I repeated this a couple more times before rolling it into a cylinder.
I then cut it into pieces — the recipe says around 16, but I actually managed to get 18 pieces from my dough.
Each piece was flattened with my palm, then rolled with a rolling pin, keeping the centre slightly thicker and making the edges thinner.
Then came the fun part!
I placed around 2 heaped tablespoons of filling in the centre of each dough disc and pleated the edges up and around the filling until it was completely enclosed.
Once all the buns were made, I covered them with a damp towel and left them to rest for about an hour.
Into the Steamer
The buns then went into the steamer over boiling water for around 10 minutes, until the dough was fluffy and cooked through.
And this is where I learnt a couple of very important lessons the first time around! 😂
Do NOT overcrowd your steamer.
These little buns grow more than you think they will. I thought mine had plenty of room, but once they puffed up, they decided they wanted to become one giant family of buns and stuck together! 😂
Also, put a little piece of baking paper underneath each bun.
I didn’t do this the first time and had an absolute nightmare trying to get them out of the steamer without leaving half the bun behind.
So… Were They Worth It?
Absolutely! ❤️
The combination of the smoky leftover pork ribs with the Japanese BBQ sauce and marinade was delicious.
The leftovers were also really easy to reheat. Around 30–60 seconds in the microwave at half power was enough to warm them back up without turning them into rubber.
A Little FYI Before You Start…
These are not a quick weeknight dinner.
I don’t think I quite appreciated how much time goes into making steamed buns from scratch until I actually made them.
So you’re looking at roughly 3 hours from starting to sitting down to eat.
There’s kneading, resting, making the filling, cooling the filling, rolling and shaping all those little buns, another rest and then steaming.
Would I make them again?
Yes. Definitely.
Would I make them on a night when I’m already tired, hungry and looking for dinner in 30 minutes?
Absolutely not! 😂
These are definitely a weekend or “I’ve got time and feel like cooking” meal for me.
But if you’ve got the time, they’re so satisfying to make and even better to eat.
Recipe inspiration: Chinese BBQ Pork Steamed Buns — Marion’s Kitchen
View the original recipe from Marion’s Kitchen