Siew Bao / Flaky Chicken Buns

I love to eat Siew Pau / Shao Bao 烧包.  Whenever I'm at a shopping mall and if I happened to across stall selling piping hot Shao Bao, I will buy one or two to enjoy.  But nowadays the Shao Bao is getting smaller and smaller and the price is getting increasing.  Sometimes I feel it is really not worth it for paying $1.70 a piece for just a tiny bao!  

I prefer to make my own Shao Bao as I can use my own healthy ingredients.

Flaky Roast Buns With Chicken Filling / Chicken Shao Bao
Recipe adapted and copy from Sonia's of Nasi Lemak Lover with slight changes 

For the Chicken filling

450g (+/-) chicken meat (I use skinless chicken thigh), cubed small

100g onion, chopped

50g frozen green peas, thawed 

Seasonings 
3 tbsp sugar

1 ½ tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 ½ tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp dark caramel soy sauce, optional (I used ABC Sweet dark sauce)

A pinch of Chinese five-spices powder 

1 tbsp corn flour + 2 tbsp water, to thicken 

Method

Mix all seasonings in a mixing bowl, set aside.

Heat 3 tbsp cooking oil in a non-stick frying pan, add in onion, sauté till fragrant.

Add in chicken meat, stir fry till the meat half cooked.

Add in seasonings, continue stir fry for few minutes till thicken.

Add in the grean peas and stir till everything incorporated in.

Add in corn flour water to thicken in, set aside to cool. 

Dough A (Water dough)

200g plain flour

60g butter (salted), at room temperature

2 tbsp caster sugar

100g water 

Dough B (oil dough)

160g plain flour

100g shortening 

Egg wash (egg yolk +water), white sesame seeds  

Method

Dough A 

Rub butter with flour and sugar, slowly add in water, combine till form dough, set aside 10mins.

Dough B 

Rub shortening with flour, combine till form dough, set aside for 10mins.

Equally divide dough A and B into 20 portions and roll into ball

Wrap dough B with dough A (that means oil dough is inside). Roll it out into long rectangle shape. Then roll up the dough like swiss roll. Repeat this step one more time. Then take the swiss roll and pinch two ends together and roll into ball shape. Set aside to rest and repeat the rest of dough till finished.

Roll it out into a circle and place a spoonful the filling in the center. Bring all edges together and pinch to seal.

Egg wash and bake in preheated oven at 180C for 15 minutes.

Take out the baking tray, egg wash again and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top (do it one by one: egg wash one sprinkle sesame seeds), and return to oven at 180C for another 15mins or till golden brown.

I have been so diligently making Shao Baos lately as this is my third  batch already!!