September 13 - Siopao Asado for Home Lunch

Daniel and Cathelyn are back to school. Daniel is now in 5th grade and Cathelyn is in 3rd grade. As our CEO will always tell me, I should cherish these "golden" years. Indeed, these years are starting to be golden.

Last summer, the kids enjoyed going to the summer sports camps as well as going around Hoboken with their older cousin. They are more independent. They have more enthusiasm in trying out new things (which started this "Fine Dining at Home" project). And they have better appreciation of what they have and what they could do.

Another new thing that they initiated is bringing home lunch to school instead of getting the everyday hot school lunch. Besides making my morning time more hectic preparing their home lunches, it became more challenging for me to prepare a variety to encourage them to really eat their lunch.

This is the main reason why I tried to make siopao asado. Besides being a favorite of my kids (once in a while, I am able to pass by the Red Ribbon bakeshop to buy a dozen), it is also something that I could prepare in advance and then just reheat them in the morning. At this age, too, they are allowed to use the microwave in their classroom to warm their home lunch.

A little convenience, after all, does not hurt....

Siopao Asado

Meat Filling Ingredients

1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced along the grain
2 minced scallion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch with 4 tbsp water

Dough Ingredients

6 cups flour

3 tsp salt

6 tsp bakling powder

2 package active dry yeast

1 cup white sugar

1.5 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Cooking the Meat Filling:

Saute the onions and garlic. Add the meat and cook for 10 minutes. Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and 1/4 cup water. Simmer for 45 minutes until the meat is tender. Take out some meat while still cooking. Shred the meat and put it back to the pan. Add the water with the cornstarch. Mix until all the meat is covered. Set aside.

Preparing and Cooking the Dough:

In a big bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.

In another bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1.5 cup of lukewarm water. Add the white sugar. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture and set aside for 30 minutes. Add the rest of the flour mixture and knead the dough until it is smooth and not sticky. Grease the bowl. Cover the dough with the oil and set aside for 2 hours to let the dough rise.

Divide the dough into 12 balls. For each ball, flatten the dough into 5 inches in diameter. Using an ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops of the filling on the center of the dough. Close the seams. Place the filled dough on a wax parchment (1.5 inches in size) and set aside.

Place at least 3 pieces in a steamer. Leave an inch of space between the pieces. Steam for 20 minutes.

You may store the siopao in the freezer.

Reheat for 15 minutes in the steamer. You may also microwave the siopao for a little over 1 minute.