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Roast Pork Buns

eatingwitheddie
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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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Posted
What makes a great roast pork bun?

Tender pork and lots of it. Not too much goopy sauce in there. And not too much sitting-around time.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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torakris

torakris

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what? moist not dry buns, filling heavy on the pork rather than fillers though some pieces aof shiitake, bamboo shoots, etc are a welcome addition, filling also moist rather than dry.

where?

Almost any vendor in Yokohama's Chinatown (sorry have never beent o any other China towns and the ones sold in Japanese supermarkets can be quite bad)

steamed, definitely steamed.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Wimpy

Wimpy

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Posted (edited)

aka Char Siew Pao? Plenty of it here in Singapore. Steamed or baked is good, though I prefer the latter. Hate it when they go cheap on the pork filling, but inevitable unless you make it yourself. Agree that it shouldn't be too goopy. Should be seasoned aggressively enough to make up for bland bun portion with every bite.

Edited by Wimpy (log)
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SobaAddict70

SobaAddict70

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According to El Gordo, GSI (or is it GS Chelsea? :angry: (I can't remember.)) makes a pretty good char siu bao. (Of course, I've never been. :blink: )

However, I can tell you who makes a really awful bun -- Our Evergreen, located in the lower Upper East Side. Could've been an off night though. The bun in question was really bready, and not even the right size.

Soba

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Bux

Bux

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A gloopy sauce is a real turn off, but I'm one of those people who find plenty of onions in the baked buns or lots of cabbage in the steamed buns a plus. It adds depth to the flavor of the bun. What I don't like is a baked bun with paper on the bottom that doesn't want to peel off without taking a good chunk of bun with it. Buns that have too sweet a glaze are a turn off as well. The steamed buns I miss are the ones that I used to find along Canal Street (NYC) that were reheated on a griddle. They had a crusty bottom that contrasted nicely with the texture of the steamed bread. They were also cabbage and pork buns and unlike the baked pork buns, the pork was not roast pork.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

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Wimpy

Wimpy

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The only solution to not having enough filling is to make the darn things yourself. Steamed "paos" are much easier to do than baked. Use Ming Tsai's recipe for the dough and you won't go far wrong. As for filling, it can be anything. I typically saute pork belly cubes with black bean sauce and waterchestnuts for the crunch.

Oh and btw, the little wax paper squares on the bottom is a must, else your pao will stick to the steamer.

Not quite char siew pao, but pao nevertheless.

Edited by Wimpy (log)
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Jon Tseng

Jon Tseng

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If you're doing the non-roast pork ones (ie plain meat filling - no gloop) MUST be as juicy as possible (I suspect this involves chucking lots of pork fat and/or jelly into the stuffing).

Best baozi I ever had were lamb baozi from a muslim hole-in-the-wall in beijing. terrifically tasty and oozing juice. yum.

J

More Cookbooks than Sense - my new Cookbook blog!
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Rhea_S

Rhea_S

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I prefer a slightly sweet, soft, fluffy dough, just enough sauce (not too sweet) to moisten the meat and steamed.

I don't like char siu bao as much as Filipino siopao. Same idea but different fillings. My favourite has minced pork or chicken, strips of ham, shiitake mushrooms, scallions and the yolk of a salted egg. The best I've ever had are from New Town Bakery in Vancouver's Chinatown. Friends from the US always request a box or two whenever I go home to Vancouver.

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scamhi

scamhi

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The Bakery can't remember the name on the corner of Lafayette and Grand Southeast corner has good ones, very juicy, not gloppy and warm sweet soft bun. $0.50 each. They take them out of a warmer in the back.

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wingding

wingding

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The dim sum parlor on the corner of East Broadway and Market St.[formerly the Garden cafeteria] makes a nice char shu bao.Fresh is the most important thing,as well as a touch of cooking sherry in the sauce.For steamed buns,nothing beats dai bao for me-a large steamed bun with chicken,hard boiled egg,chinese sausage,sometimes mushroom.Mei Lei Wah is the current champ for this one.

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mamster

mamster

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Does anybody know of a roast pork bun that has ENOUGH filling?

They ALWAYS seem to have too little don't they?

I sort of understand this, because I've made them at home and it was harder than I thought to get enough filling in there. Then again, I'm just puttering around in my kitchen, and out in the world there are real dim sum chefs.

My top criterion is not too sweet. I realize they have to be somewhat sweet, but often the sugar is all you can taste. Believe it or not, they used to sell some pretty good ones at Costco. You'd wrap them in plastic and microwave them. They'd rank solidly in the middle of the ones I've had at various dim sum parlors.

Matthew Amster-Burton, aka "mamster"

Author, Hungry Monkey, coming in May

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Kim WB

Kim WB

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I prefer the roll to be dense, and the filling to be portk and cabbage or leeks/scallions. Steamed, or course! Best I ever had were at the bakery across from the Mingyuan XinduHotel in Nanning, China. They had regular and sweet versions, the sweetness referring to the sauce the pork was in...and I had at least 20 pork buns throught small villages and mid sized cities in Southern China...there was a small amount of pork filling in each bun..similiar to the small amount of meat eaten with each meal. US Porkbuns from Philly, NY and SF chinatowns all had more pork filling than those I had in China.

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eatingwitheddie

eatingwitheddie

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  • Topic Starter
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Hi Pork Bun Fans,

I live in Brooklyn, NY and I'm looking for the best roast pork buns in the city. So far have to try Hop Shing and Mei Lei Wah. Does anyone else have things to recommend in the 5 boroughs?

I am obsessed with these buns.

Try the small baked buns at The Golden Unicorn, 18 E. Bway at Chathan Sq in Chinatown. Haven't had them in a while but I remember them to be excellent and delicate.

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