Smiling Char Siew Pau

Methods:
~Overnight sponge dough
Mix all till form a dough. Divide into 3 portions (around 200g each). Immediately store in greased plastic bag (no proving needed). Make a tight knob without leaving any space for the dough. Store in fridge at least 4 hours. It can be kept up to 7 days. Thaw it for 10-15 minutes at room temperature before use.







~Char Siew Filling
Fry onion with oil till fragrant. Add in the meat and stir for even cooking. Follow by the seasoning. Then the thickening sauce. Cook till all come into simmer. Keep in fridge for an hour. Add in toasted sesame seeds before used.

~Pau Dough
 

1. Dissolve sugar in 1/3 cup of water. Add in pieces of overnight sponge dough. Follow by flour and baking powder. Using a pair of chopstick, stir till all flour coated with the liquid.
2. Start kneading to form a rough dough. Put in oil once all come together. Continue kneading until the dough become smooth.? Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
 3. Transfer to working surface. Divide the dough and mould into balls. Flatten balls into round shape. Wrap in filling and place on lined paper(I used banana leaf). Wrap without tight seal so the pau will ?smile? once steamed. Rest the pau in steamer for 15 minutes. I used to place a cloth around the steamer (as shown below). This is to prevent pau from getting wet during the steaming process.