Char Siu Bao Buns: Wok-Steamed and Steam-Oven Methods

Char siu bao (叉燒包) — soft, white, slightly sweet steamed buns filled with diced Chinese BBQ pork in a glossy sauce — is the unofficial test for any dim sum restaurant. Get it right and the dough is pillowy, almost cottony, with a faintly sweet aroma; the filling is rich and umami; the whole bun disappears in about three bites. Get it wrong and you have a dense, gummy puck.

The good news for home cooks: bao buns are genuinely easier to make at home than they look, as long as you respect the rising times and don’t open the steamer mid-cook. We’re going to walk through the canonical recipe with both the traditional wok-with-bamboo-steamer method and the modern steam-oven method (using a NuWave Combi Steam Oven), since both have their place.

What is char siu bao?

Char siu bao is one of the foundational dishes of Cantonese dim sum. The name breaks down as:

• Char siu (叉燒, “fork-roasted”): Chinese BBQ pork, traditionally roasted on long forks over open flames. Sweet, savory, slightly smoky, marinated in hoisin, soy, honey, and Chinese five-spice. The classic protein for these buns.
• Bao (包, “bun”): a generic term for filled buns in Chinese cooking. Steamed bao have a pale, cottony texture distinct from baked Cantonese-style char siu bao (which is golden and glossy on top). This recipe is for the steamed variety.

The two-step structure — soft yeasted dough wrapped around an intensely flavored filling — gives you a balance of textures and flavors that’s hard to replicate in any other format. If you’ve only ever had bao from a freezer-aisle package or a Trader Joe’s appetizer tray, the fresh homemade version is genuinely different food.

Wok-and-bamboo-basket method vs. steam oven

Both methods produce excellent bao. Quick comparison:

Wok with bamboo steamer basket is the traditional approach. The bamboo absorbs some of the steam, which prevents condensation from dripping onto the buns and pock-marking them. Single tier is easy; stacking two or three baskets lets you cook 24+ buns at once. The bamboo basket also imparts a faint aroma to the buns over time.

Steam oven delivers more even heat across a larger batch and removes the variable of how vigorously your wok is boiling. The NuWave Combi Steam Oven (which is what we used in testing) has precise temperature and humidity control, which produces extremely consistent results — fewer wrinkles, more uniform rise, easier to scale to 20+ buns at once.

If you only steam bao occasionally, the wok method is great and you don’t need to buy anything new. If you make dim sum regularly or run a small home cooking operation, the steam oven pays for itself in time and consistency.

Ingredients

For the bao dough

• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour or low-protein bao flour
• 1 cup (240ml) warm water (~110°F)
• 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
• Pinch of kosher salt

For the char siu filling

• 1 1/2 cups diced char siu (Chinese BBQ pork), about 8 oz
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 scallions, finely chopped

For assembly

• 12 small parchment paper squares (2.5 inches each), or pre-cut parchment cups

Method

1. Bloom the yeast. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and yeast. Stir gently and let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy. If it doesn’t foam, your yeast is dead — start over with fresh yeast.
2. Mix the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and oil. Mix with a spatula until shaggy, then turn out and knead by hand for 10 minutes (or 6–8 minutes in a stand mixer with dough hook) until smooth and elastic. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky but not sticky.
3. First proof. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1.5–2 hours, until doubled in size.
4. Make the filling. While the dough rises, heat a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add hoisin, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar; stir until combined and simmering. Add the cornstarch slurry and cook 30 seconds until thickened. Off heat, stir in the diced char siu, sesame oil, and scallions. Let cool completely before filling — warm filling will melt the dough.
5. Shape the buns. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces (about 50g each). Roll each into a ball, then flatten with a rolling pin into a 4-inch disc, keeping the edges slightly thinner than the center. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center, gather the edges up over the filling, and pinch closed at the top. Set each bun pinched-side-down on a parchment square.
6. Second proof. Arrange the shaped buns on a tray, cover with a damp towel, and let rest at room temperature for 20–30 minutes. They should look slightly puffy. Skipping this step gives you dense, wrinkled buns.
7. Steam (wok method). Bring 2 inches of water to a vigorous boil in a wok. Place buns on parchment squares in a bamboo steamer basket, leaving 1 inch between buns (they expand). Cover, set the basket over the boiling water, and steam for 12–15 minutes on high heat without lifting the lid. Buns are done when they look puffy, glossy, and feel firm but springy when pressed.
8. Steam (steam oven method). Preheat the steam oven to 212°F at 100% steam. Arrange buns on a perforated steam tray with 1 inch of space between each. Steam for 12–15 minutes. The oven’s even heat means fewer wrinkles and more consistent rise across the whole batch.
9. Rest and serve. Turn off the heat and let the buns sit, covered, for 2 minutes before opening (sudden temperature drop causes them to wrinkle). Serve warm. Leftovers freeze well — steam from frozen for 8–10 minutes to revive.

Pro tips

• Use bao flour or low-protein cake flour if you can find it. All-purpose flour works but produces a slightly chewier bun. The classic dim sum texture (almost cottony, fall-apart soft) comes from lower protein content. Hong Kong bao flour is the canonical choice and worth seeking out at an Asian grocery.
• Cold filling is non-negotiable. Warm filling will melt the soft dough as you pinch it closed, and the buns will leak. Cool the filling completely before assembly — even chilled in the fridge for 30 minutes works.
• The pinch matters. The traditional dim sum pleat (15+ folds around the top) is beautiful but optional. A simple twist-and-pinch closure works fine; just make sure the seal is complete so steam doesn’t escape and dry out the filling.
• Don’t lift the lid mid-steam. A sudden temperature drop will cause the buns to deflate and wrinkle. Set a timer and trust the process.
• Buns wrinkle if cooled too fast. After the timer goes off, leave the lid on for 2 minutes before opening. This lets the buns gradually equilibrate to ambient temperature.

Char siu shortcuts

If you don’t have a Chinese BBQ shop nearby and don’t want to make char siu from scratch (which is a half-day project), reasonable substitutes include:

• Leftover Chinese roast pork from a restaurant — even from American Chinese takeout, the BBQ pork in a wonton soup is usually char siu.
• Pre-made char siu sauce + roast pork tenderloin. Lee Kum Kee Char Siu Sauce is widely available; marinate pork tenderloin in it for an hour, then roast at 400°F for 25 minutes.
• Pulled rotisserie chicken with the bao filling sauce. Less traditional but works in a pinch. The sauce-and-bun structure is what makes this dish satisfying; the protein is interchangeable.

Variations

The bao dough recipe above is the canonical “white bao” formula and works for any sweet-savory filling. Some popular variants:

• Custard bao (lai wong bao) — fill with a sweet egg-yolk-and-butter custard. Sweet rather than savory.
• Red bean bao (dou sha bao) — fill with sweetened red bean paste. Classic Cantonese.
• Curry beef bao — filling of ground beef cooked with curry powder, onions, and potatoes. More Hong Kong-style.
• Vegetable bao — finely diced mushrooms, cabbage, scallions, and bok choy with hoisin and sesame oil. Vegetarian alternative.

The dough doesn’t change; only the filling does.

Storage and reheating

Bao buns freeze excellently. Cool fully after steaming, freeze on a sheet pan until firm (about 1 hour), then transfer to a freezer bag. To reheat:

• From frozen: steam for 8–10 minutes over boiling water (no need to thaw). They come out almost indistinguishable from fresh.
• From refrigerator: steam for 5–6 minutes.
• Microwave: wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave 30–45 seconds. Faster but slightly less ideal texture.

Cooked bao keep in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer for 3 months.

What to serve with bao

Bao buns are a classic dim sum item, which means they’re typically served as part of a multi-dish meal with other small plates. A few good companions:

• Steamed vegetables like stir-fried broccoli or bok choy
• Soup — a clear wonton soup is the traditional dim sum accompaniment
• Pickled vegetables to cut the richness of the filling
• Tea — strong oolong or pu-erh is the canonical pairing

For a more comprehensive treatment of dim sum and dim-sum-adjacent cooking, The Wok by Kenji López-Alt has a section on Chinese steaming with detailed technique discussion. And for the wok-cooking essentials needed for the filling, our pantry guide covers everything in the ingredient list.