Learn how to make Michelin-star Tim Ho Wan baked bbq pork buns. A baked Chinese bbq pork buns with a sweet crispy crust on top of the buns are seriously out-of-this-world good. A perfect combination of sweet and savory, soft and crispy all in one bite.
The first time we went to Tim Ho Wan, I ordered their baked bbq pork buns and I (well, the entire family pretty much) loved this to the max. My kids love them so much that they had been nagging me to learn how to make this at home and so here I am! LOL! I have to say that I’m pretty happy with the result though!
What is Tim Ho Wan baked bbq pork bun?
If you have dined at Tim Ho Wan before, you know that these baked bbq pork buns are one of their signature dim sum items. It is basically a baked bun filled with savory Chinese bbq pork filling (similar to the steamed version of char siu bao). What set Tim Ho Wan baked bbq pork buns apart from the regular is the addition of a sweet crust on top of the buns. This is like the Hong Kong Po lo bao or the Mexican conchas pan dulce. All of these buns have crispy sweet cookie/streusel-like crust on top.
Another name you may have heard is snow mountain pork buns. Yes, the name is a bit unique indeed. The crisp crust on top of the baked buns dusted with some icing sugar makes it similar to a “snow” mountain and hence the name. Though at Tim Ho Wan, the buns aren’t dusted with icing sugar.
How to make Tim Ho Wan baked bbq pork buns
1. Prepare the filling: This can be done few days before and kept in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Cut the char siu into little cubes. Combine the seasonings and set aside. Preheat a large skillet or wok. Add 2 tsp of oil. Add the green onion, ginger, and star anise. Saute for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant
2. Add water and bring to a simmer and cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the green onion, and ginger. Add the seasonings you mixed earlier along with the spices
4. Let it cook for another 1-2 minutes. Check on the taste. Adjust by adding more sugar and/or salt if necessary. Mix the water flour and cornstarch. When you are happy with the taste, drizzle in the flour mixture while stirring with another hand. The sauce will gradually thicken.
5. Turn off the heat and add the char siu pieces and stir to combine everything
6. Remove from the wok. Let it cool down completely before using. If preparing ahead, keep it covered and stored in the fridge until the day you plan to make the buns
7. Prepare the dough:
Put all ingredients, except for the butter in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Knead on lowest speed for about 2-3 minutes and then increase speed to 2 and knead until the dough comes together, about 5 minutes
8. Add the softened butter and increase speed to 4 and knead for 5-8 minutes or until the dough is really smooth and stretchy. If you slowly stretch a small amount of the dough, it will stretch thinly and it won’t break. If it breaks almost immediately, you need to knead it a bit longer until the gluten develops and becomes stretchy
9. Oil a bowl and put the dough in there. Cover with a damp towel or cling wrap. Let it proof in a warm place. It may take 1-2 hours or longer for the dough to double in size. This depends on the temperature. The colder it is, the longer it will take to proof. When you poke your finger into the dough and the indentation stays, the dough is done proofing. If it bounces back almost immediately, it needs to proof longer
10. Prepare the topping: Combine the flour, icing sugar, salt, and softened butter in a bowl. You should be able to form a dough. Wrap it up and keep it in the fridge if you prepare ahead and let it comes to room temperature before using
11. Fill and shape the dough: Deflate the dough by punching it down to release the air bubbles
12. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Round it up into a dough ball by pulling and tucking on the dough. Keep them covered and rest for 15 minutes to relax the gluten
13. Lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Take one dough and flatten slightly with your palm. Roll it out into a circle, about 4-5 inch in diameter
14. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling in the middle
15. Gather the dough around the edge to seal it tightly. Put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, seam-side down. Continue with the rest of the dough and filling. Give each bun about 2 inches of space as they will expand during baking
16. Cover the shaped buns with a damp towel or cling wrap and let them proof at a warm place again. The second proofing may be a bit faster, depending on the temperature, somewhere between 45 minutes – 1 hour or longer. The dough should be visibly puffy and almost double in size.15 minutes before the end of proofing, preheat oven to 375 F (190 C)
17. Put the topping on the bun: Divide the dough for topping into 10 equal pieces. Flatten one and roll it out into a circle, about 1/8 inch thick and slightly larger than the buns, in between two parchment paper or cling wraps
18. Drap this topping on top of the bun
19. Put the baking sheet on the middle rack and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top has light golden brown. Dust with a bit of icing sugar for the “snow” mountain effect, but I know Tim Ho Wan doesn’t do this. So it’s up to you. Serve them warm
Did you make this Tim Ho Wan Baked BBQ Pork Bun recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Tim Ho Wan Baked BBQ Pork Buns
Ingredients
Dough:
- 300 gr bread flour
- 60 gr sugar
- 4 gr instant yeast
- 170 ml milk
- 30 gr unsalted butter softened
Topping:
- 100 gr all purpose flour
- 90 gr unsalted butter softened
- 45 gr icing sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
Bbq pork filling (can be prepared a few days before):
- 200 gr char siu diced
- 2 tsp cooking oil
- 2 stalks green onion cut into 3-inch pieces
- 20 gr ginger thinly sliced
- 200 ml water
Seasonings:
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sugar or more as needed
- ¼ tsp salt or more as needed
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp red yeast rice powder optional, for red coloring
Spices:
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- ¼ tsp five-spice powder
To thicken the filling:
- 60 ml water
- 20 gr all-purpose flour
- 10 gr cornstarch
Instructions
Prepare the filling:
- Cut the char siu into little cubes. Combine the seasonings and set aside. Preheat a large skillet or wok. Add 2 tsp of oil. Add the green onion, ginger, and star anise. Saute for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant
- Add water and bring to a simmer and cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the green onion, and ginger. Add the seasonings you mixed earlier along with the spices. Let it cook for another 1-2 minutes. Check on the taste. Adjust by adding more sugar and/or salt if necessary
Thicken the sauce:
- Mix the water flour and cornstarch. When you are happy with the taste, drizzle in the flour mixture while stirring with another hand. The sauce will gradually thicken. Turn off the heat and add the char siu pieces and stir to combine everything. Remove from the wok. Let it cool down completely before using. If preparing ahead, keep it covered and stored in the fridge until the day you plan to make the buns
Prepare the dough:
- Put all ingredients, except for the butter in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Knead on lowest speed for about 2-3 minutes and then increase speed to 2 and knead until the dough comes together, about 5 minutes. Add the softened butter and increase speed to 4 and knead for 5-8 minutes or until the dough is really smooth and stretchy. If you slowly stretch a small amount of the dough, it will stretch thinly and it won't break. If it breaks almost immediately, you need to knead it a bit longer until the gluten develops and becomes stretchy
First proofing:
- Oil a bowl and put the dough in there. Cover with a damp towel or cling wrap. Let it proof in a warm place. It may take 1-2 hours or longer for the dough to double in size. This depends on the temperature. The colder it is, the longer it will take to proof
- When you poke your finger into the dough and the indentation stays, the dough is done proofing. If it bounces back almost immediately, it needs to proof longer
Prepare the topping:
- Combine the flour, icing sugar, salt, and softened butter in a bowl. You should be able to form a dough. Wrap it up and keep it in the fridge if it's really warm where you are while preparing other things
Fill and shape:
- Deflate the dough by punching it down to release the air bubbles. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Round it up into a dough ball by pulling and tucking on the dough. Keep them covered and work with one dough at a time
- Lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Take one dough and flatten slightly with your palm. Roll it out into a circle, about 4-5 inch in diameter. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling in the middle. Gather the dough around the edge to seal it tightly. Put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, seam-side down. Continue with the rest of the dough and filling. Give each bun about 2 inches of space as they will expand during baking
2nd proofing:
- Cover the shaped buns with a damp towel or cling wrap and let them proof at a warm place again. The second proofing may be a bit faster, depending on the temperature, somewhere between 45 minutes - 1 hour or longer. The dough should be visibly puffy and almost double in size
- When you gently press on the dough it bounces back very slowly. If it bounces back immediately, proof it a bit longer. If it never bounces back, you have over proofed the dough. 15 minutes before the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 375F (190 C) for a conventional oven. Lower the temperature by about 20 degrees if you have a convection oven (top and low heat)
Put the topping on top of the buns:
- Divide the topping dough into 10 equal pieces. Flatten one and roll it out into a circle, about 1/8 inch thick and slightly larger than the buns, in between two parchment paper or cling wraps. Drap this topping on top of the bun
Baking:
- Put the baking sheet on the middle rack and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top has light golden brown. Dust with a bit of icing sugar for the "snow" mountain effect, but I know Tim Ho Wan doesn't do this. So it's up to you. Serve them warm
- They taste the best on the same day as the crust is still crisp
How to store:
- Let the buns cool down completely. Once they have cooled down completely. Store them in an air-tight container and put in the fridge for a about a week or freeze them for longer shelf life, up to one month
How to reheat:
- Simply reheat in a microwave for 10-20 seconds or until warm and the top has crisped up slightly. You can also loosely wrap in an aluminum foil and preheat in the oven at 350 F for 8-10 minutes or until warm through and the crust crisp up. If they are frozen, you may want to add another 4-5 minutes
2 comments
Hi Marvellina, Oh, I am sorry for that comment, as my brain was not functioning! I understand now that you were talking about the topping dough! When I started to put my buns in the oven, I realized my topping was too thick to put it on the top and re-read the recipe and realized that you were talking about topping “dough.” You are welcome to delete the whole two comments! I will let you know how they turned out, but the filling (made with your char siu pork recipe) tasted good, and the house smells good now as they are baking!
Hi Marilyn, I apologize for my late reply. I have added the word “topping dough” to avoid confusion next time. I hope the turned out great for you!! Keep me posted when you have a chance! 🙂