Homemade Chinese BBQ Pork Pastry (Char Siu Sou)

This recipe for Homemade Chinese BBQ Pork Pastry (Char Siu Sou) features sweet and salty roasted BBQ pork encapsulated in a light and flaky puff pastry made from scratch.

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe is made entirely from scratch -- there's no need to use store-bought puff pastry.

The BBQ roast pork char siu filling strikes the perfect balance between sweet and savoury.

Light and flaky puff pastry is straightforward to make.

These BBQ Pork pastries are perfectly sized for appetizers.

What is char siu?

First of all, "char siu" refers to Chinese roasted BBQ pork.

Char siu literally means "fork" "roasted" and is the method by which the pork is barbequed.

It is is a sweet and salty meat used in many Chinese dishes such as:

• Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)
• Chinese Baked BBQ Pork Buns
• fried rice
• Kolo Mee (Dry Sarawak Malaysian Chinese Noodles)
• Rice Noodle Rolls 豬腸粉 (Chee Cheong Fun)

What is char siu sou?

Char siu sou means "BBQ pork pastry." 

The pastry is a short-cut puff pastry, similar to Wife Cakes (老婆餅), where the dough is laminated with an oil paste to create light and flaky layers.

Ingredients you'll need

For the char siu filling:

• char siu (roasted BBQ pork): you can use a store-bought one, or make it yourself
• shallot: minced; you can use onion in place of shallot
• soy sauce: you can use light or dark soy
• sugar: adds a little sweetness and balances out the saltiness
• black pepper
• tapioca starch: helps to thicken up the mixture; you can substitute with cornstarch
• cold water: to dissolve the tapioca starch
• toasted sesame oil: adds a little aroma to the filling

For the pastry:

• all-purpose flour: regular flour will be fine for this pastry
• salted butter: if you don't have salted butter, you can use unsalted butter and add a ¼ teaspoon of salt; you can use lard as well
• avocado oil: or any light vegetable oil
• water: room temperature
• cake/pastry flour: you can use regular all-purpose flour if you don't have cake flour, but don't use self-raising flour

How to make it

Make the char siu filling

It's very similar to making the filling in baked or steamed Char siu bao/buns.

Heat 1 teaspoon of avocado oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Add in the shallot, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until lightly softened.

Next, add in the diced char siu and stir for another 1-2 minutes.

Add in the soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, tapioca starch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of cold water. Give it a stir.

Bring the mixture up to a simmer, and then drizzle in 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.

Remove from heat and let cool (Step 1 below).

Make the pastry dough

Water dough:

In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and cold salted butter. Use a fork to cut the butter into the flour.

Add in the avocado oil and water.

Mix until the dough comes together.

Add 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour and knead until the dough becomes smooth.

Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for about 20 minutes (Step 2 above).

Oil dough/paste:

In a small bowl, combine the cake/pastry flour together with the oil.

Stir with a spoon until it becomes a smooth paste. Set aside (Step 3 above).

How to assemble

Divide the water dough into 10 equal portions.

Roll out the dough into a flat square (Step 4 above).

Spread 1 tablespoon of oil paste in the centre of the dough (be careful not to get to close to the edge) (Step 5 above).

Fold over dough in half and press down to seal the seams.

Gently press down the dough and flatten. 

With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a slender rectangle.

Coil the dough up (like making a jelly roll) and turn it 90 degrees. Flatten and repeat (Step 6 above). 

Roll out the dough again, coil it up and turn it 90 degrees another 2 more times (Step 7 above). (This produces the flaky layers).

Once the dough is rolled out to a long rectangle, add 1.5 teaspoon of (about 18g) of char siu filling to the centre (Step 8 above).

Fold up the dough to cover the filling and seal/crimp the edges with a fork (Step 9 & 10 below).

Place the pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Repeat with the remainder.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Brush the tops of the pastries with lightly beaten egg (egg wash) (Step 11 & 12).

Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).

Bake at 400F for 5 minutes, and then reduce to 350F for another 20-25 minutes, until puffy and golden brown.

Tips & tricks

You can make the BBQ char siu pork filling on the same day or ahead of time.

The filling will be easier to manage when slightly chilled.

You can form the char siu sou into any shape you like -- such as a triangle or half-moon.

How to enjoy 

As with any baked pastry, these Homemade Chinese BBQ Pork Pastries are best enjoyed hot and fresh from the oven.

You can also serve the pastries along with some Homemade Chinese Egg Tarts and Hong Kong Milk Tea as part of a mini dim sum experience.

How to store & reheat

Store the freshly baked (and cooled) BBQ pork pastries in an airtight container at room temperature.

If there are any leftovers, transfer into the fridge for up to 5 days.

The baked pastries freeze very well. Store in a freezer-safe for up to 3 months.

To reheat the pork pastries, bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes, until hot and crisp.

Other recipes you may like

Be sure to check out these other recipes:

Chinese Baked BBQ Pork Buns

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)

Wife Cakes (老婆餅)

Chinese Curry Beef Buns

Homemade Chinese Egg Tarts

Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Homemade Chinese BBQ Pork Pastry (Char Siu Sou)

This recipe for Homemade Chinese BBQ Pork Pastry (Char Siu Sou) features sweet and salty roasted BBQ pork encapsulated in a light and flaky puff pastry made from scratch.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Dim Sum

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Servings: 10

Calories: 224kcal

Author: Michelle

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For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.

Ingredients

Char siu BBQ pork filling:

• 160 g char siu (roasted BBQ pork) diced
• 3 shallots minced
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon tapioca starch
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Dough:

Water dough:

• 160 g all-purpose flour
• 22 g salted butter cold
• 15 ml avocado oil or refined coconut oil
• 90 ml water room temperature

Oil dough/paste:

• 90 g cake/pastry flour
• 50 ml avocado oil

Instructions

Make the char siu filling:

• Heat 1 teaspoon of avocado oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
• Add in the shallot, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until lightly softened.
• Next, add in the diced char siu and stir for another 1-2 minutes.
• Add in the soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, tapioca starch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of cold water. Give it a stir.
• Bring the mixture up to a simmer, and then drizzle in 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
• Remove from heat and let cool.

Make the pastry dough:

Water dough:

• In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and cold salted butter. Use a fork to cut the butter into the flour.
• Add in the avocado oil and water.
• Mix until the dough comes together.
• Add 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour and knead until the dough becomes smooth.
• Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for about 20 minutes.

Oil dough/paste:

• In a small bowl, combine the cake/pastry flour together with the oil.
• Stir with a spoon until it becomes a smooth paste. Set aside.

Assemble:

• Divide the water dough into 10 equal portions.
• Roll out the dough into a flat square.
• Spread 1 tablespoon of oil paste in the centre of the dough (be careful not to get to close to the edge).
• Fold over dough in half and press down to seal the seams.
• Gently press down the dough and flatten.
• With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a slender rectangle.
• Coil the dough up (like making a jelly roll) and turn it 90 degrees. Flatten and repeat.
• Roll out the dough again, coil it up and turn it 90 degrees another 2 more times. (This produces the flaky layers).
• Once the dough is rolled out to a long rectangle, add 1.5 teaspoon of (about 18g) of char siu filling to the centre.
• Fold up the dough to cover the filling and seal/crimp the edges with a fork.
• Place the pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Repeat with the remainder.

Bake:

• Preheat oven to 400°F/204°C.
• Brush the tops of the pastries with lightly beaten egg (egg wash).
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
• Bake at 400°F/204°C for 5 minutes, and then reduce to 350°F/177°C for another 20-25 minutes, until puffy and golden brown.
• Serve warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 224kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 57IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.

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Recipe adapted from MaoMaoMom.