Sunday 15 March 2009

Char Siew Soh (Chinese roast pork puff)


Been awhile since I bake, mainly because my cranky oven make a hell lot of noise when in fan mode (luckily my neighbor has yet to complaint) and secondly it requires a long time even to bake muffins. So I decided to dismantle it and clean thoroughly the fan. With a little effort and some elbow grease, I managed to get the oven working less noisy and at least there is oven heat to bake :-).
I'm making char siew puff, yes I've make them many times before but never got the chance to upload them, either the photos were not up to my standard or rather the puffs were all long gone before I've the opportunity to shoot them. You decide :-).
Char Siew Puff is really nice to go with a cup of Chinese tea, my friend tend to go it with English tea. Whichever way, it is char siew puff that matters.

Char Siew Soh ( Chinese Roast Pork Puff)
Ingredients (make about 16 puffs)

Char Siew(Roast Pork)

  • 300 gm pork fillet/ pork belly (nice with some fats)
  • 1 big onion-diced
  • 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
Marinating ingredient
  • 4 tbsp honey/ 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp soya sauce
  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • 2 tsp five spice powder
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • Natural red coloring (optional)
alternatively you can buy Lee Kum Kee Char Siew Sauce (use 3 tbsp sauce to marinate 300gm of pork)

Delicious Roast Pork just out from oven

Puff
  • 350gm Just Roll Pastry Puff
  • some sesame seed
  • 1 egg yolk for brushing


  1. Marinate the pork with char siew marinating ingredient and leave for at least 2hrs.
  2. In a oven roast the pork at 180-190C for about 25-30mins, basting the pork with the marinating juice. You can switch to grilling for the last 5mins to get that charred look on pork.
  3. Removed and cooled. Diced the pork into small pieces.
  4. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp cooking oil, brown the onion until fragant, add in the roast pork and stir fry for 2-3mins. Add hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame seed and water and let it simmer for 4-5mins on low heat. It should be moist but not wet. Remove and let it cool.
  5. For the puff, roll it into thickness of about 1.5mm. Cut into 2.5in x 3.5in rectangular. You should get about 16 pieces.
  6. Lay the pastry, scoop a tbsp of char siew and roll, press both edge flat to form a pillow. Use a fork to imprint the fork mark onto both edges. Also make fork holes on the top side of the puff. This allow the inside ingredients to breath while cooking, else the puff will expand and breaks.
  7. Continue for the rest. Lay them on a baking tray that has been layered with baking sheet or tin foil. Brush with egg yoke and sprinkled with some sesame seed.
  8. Bake for 20mins on 190C, or till it turn golden brown.....look like a golden pillow :-) .
Heavenly Char Siew Soh as I called it Char Siew Puff .......



10 comments:

Algernond said...

NOTHING compares to your Char Siew Soh, with a cup of tea (English of course).

Christine Toh said...

Thanks for the compliment :-)

Anonymous said...

this one is really nice..chicken will do too?

The Melbourne Girl in America said...

yum...yum...hey, is this as good as the ones at Bkt Batok Mall? :D

Christine Toh said...

Hi sofood,

Glad to see you around :-). You have a very nice food blog as well. Yes you can use chicken to replace pork.
Happy St. Patrick's Day

Christine Toh said...

Ann, you mean 美珍香 (Bee Cheng Hiang) char siew puff in West Mall? :-)
Yes it is very good. Algernond was bowed over,haven't you notice? hehehehehehe.

Algernond said...

Heh. Can't believe Ann is comparing your Char Seiw Soh to something you can get in a shopping mall! You must feel insulted....

Anonymous said...

very nice photo! certainly makes the food looks better. Hee! Hee! I'm sure it's yummy...make some and tapau to Krabi, ok?

Christine Toh said...

Hi Fen,

In Krabi, we'll go and enjoy Thai food :-)

vvlam said...

Thanks for sharing! I will try to use my diy roast pork to make this Char Siew Soh. My roast pork made by omega 3 pork, it should be very suitable for making Char Siew Soh. http://www.flodinsfood.asia/news/omega3/flodins-pork-tenderloin-healthy-delicious/