Most people know Char Siu as a dim sum staple in the form of steamed buns stuffed with Chinese barbecued pork in a savory oyster-hoisin sauce filling. Char Siu Sou is basically the same filling but in a flaky pastry dough that's baked. A tried and true shortcut (I didn't invent this) that circumvents the laborious process of making your own flaky pastry dough is using those puff pastry sheets that are readily available in the freezer section of your local supermarket. For this recipe, I used my own homemade Char Siu pork (link below), but feel free to sub with store bought. The unbaked filled pastries can be frozen and then reheated in a snap.
1 1/2 lbs. char siu pork, cut into 1/2" dice (4 cups)
http://thegrubfiles.blogspot.com/2015/12/chinese-barbecued-char-siu-pork.html
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cups minced shallots or red onion
Sauce Ingredients:
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. rice wine
4 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 scallion, minced
2 pkgs. (1.1 lbs. each) puff pastry, defrosted in the refrigerator
1 egg, beaten
White sesame seeds
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl; set aside.
3. Heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in a wok or large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the minced onions or shallots and saute until softened and starting to caramelize.
4. Add the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Continue cooking until the sauce has thickened.
5. Add the chopped char siu pork and minced green onion. Stir, turn off heat, and set aside. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
6. Remove the defrosted puff pastry sheets from their wrappers and cut each into 4 equal squares. Since each box has 2 pastry sheets, so you will end up with a total of 16 squares.
7. Fill each square with about 2 heaping tbsp. of the pork filling, then crimp the edges to seal. Cut off any excess dough on the trip-point edges. Use the tines of a fork to press along the edges of each piece of stuffed pastry.
8. Spray the surface of a cookie/baking sheet with a light layer of PAM or other veggie spray. Place the stuffed pastries about 1" apart on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of each with egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.
2 pkgs. (1.1 lbs. each) puff pastry, defrosted in the refrigerator
1 egg, beaten
White sesame seeds
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl; set aside.
3. Heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in a wok or large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the minced onions or shallots and saute until softened and starting to caramelize.
4. Add the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Continue cooking until the sauce has thickened.
5. Add the chopped char siu pork and minced green onion. Stir, turn off heat, and set aside. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
6. Remove the defrosted puff pastry sheets from their wrappers and cut each into 4 equal squares. Since each box has 2 pastry sheets, so you will end up with a total of 16 squares.
7. Fill each square with about 2 heaping tbsp. of the pork filling, then crimp the edges to seal. Cut off any excess dough on the trip-point edges. Use the tines of a fork to press along the edges of each piece of stuffed pastry.
8. Spray the surface of a cookie/baking sheet with a light layer of PAM or other veggie spray. Place the stuffed pastries about 1" apart on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of each with egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.
Chop the char siu pork into 1/2" dice (this one is home made, but feel free to use store-bought)
Sauce ingredients: Hoisin sauce, white pepper, oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine. Chopped char siu pork, scallion, shallots, and the sauce ingredients.
Saute the shallots in 2 tbsp. oil until they just start to brown.
Add the sauce ingredients.
Bring to a boil and cook until sauce has thickened.
Stir in the chopped pork and scallion.
These frozen puff pastry sheets are readily available in most supermarkets.
Cut each sheet into 4 equal square pieces.
Top each sheet with about 2 tbsp. of the pork filling.
Fold the edges over and trim off any excess dough.
Crimp and seal the edges using the tines of a fork.
Spray a baking sheet with Pam or other vegetable oil spray. Place the pastries about 1" apart on the baking sheet.
Pierce each pastry with a fork to let steam escape during baking.
Brush the tops of each pastry with egg wash. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350F or until golden brown.
Voila!
I'm definitely going to give this a go.
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