Char Siu Puff Pastry （叉烧酥）

-



There’s something deeply comforting about Char Siu pastries. The sweet-savory aroma of barbecue pork wrapped in flaky pastry instantly brings back memories of Chinese bakeries—glass counters filled with golden buns and pastries, best enjoyed warm with a cup of tea.

Traditionally, char siu pastries are made with Chinese flaky pastry dough, a labor of love that involves two types of dough folded together to create those beautiful layers. Delicious, yes—but also time-consuming.

And sometimes, we just want a fast, easy snack without sacrificing flavor. That’s where this shortcut comes in.

Instead of making Chinese pastry from scratch, I’m using frozen store-bought puff pastry. It’s one of my favorite kitchen hacks—reliable, convenient, and surprisingly versatile. When baked, the puff pastry turns crisp, light, and beautifully flaky, making it a perfect stand-in for a homemade pastry base.

The filling is the real star here: tender Char Siu pork coated in a glossy, sweet-savory sauce. Once wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden, the result is a snack that feels indulgent but takes very little effort.

These Char Siu puff pastries are:

-Quick to prepare

-Perfect for make-ahead

-Ideal as a tea-time snack, party bite, or light meal

You can assemble them in advance and keep them chilled or frozen, then simply bake when needed—fresh, hot pastries whenever the craving hits.

This recipe isn’t about cutting corners; it’s about making good food more accessible. Proof that you don’t need complicated techniques to enjoy comforting, bakery-style flavors at home.

Sometimes, the best recipes are the ones that fit effortlessly into real life—simple, satisfying, and absolutely delicious.

 

INGREDIENTS

1 pack of frozen puff pastry (10 pcs)

250g Char Siu (Barbequed Pork)

Egg glaze

Some black and white sesame seeds

2 tsp cooking oil

250ml Water

20g Sliced ginger

30g Shallots

1 Star Anise

1tbsp Char Siu sauce

1 tbsp Oyster sauce

1 tbsp Dark soy sauce

1tbsp sugar

1/4tsp Salt

1/4tsp Grounded pepper

1/4tsp Five spice powder

1/4tsp Grounded cumin powder

 

Starch slurry

20g Plain flour

10g Potato starch

60ml Water

 


METHOD

1. Cut the cooked char siu into small cubes.

2. Slice the ginger and cut the shallots into small pieces.

3. Combine the plain flour, potato starch and water to make the starch slurry.

4. Heat a little oil in a pan, slightly sauté the ginger, shallots and star anise until aromatic. Add water, simmer and cook for 4 minutes at low heat.

5. Remove the ginger, shallots and star anise. Add all the sauce ingredients to the pan. Mix everything together and heat until it just begins to simmer.

6. Add the starch slurry slowly to the sauce. Cook it at low heat and keep stirring the sauce until the sauce is thick.

7. Add the char siu pieces to the sauce, stir continuously. Let the sauce reduce until it thickly coats the pork but is not too wet.  

8. Place the filling onto the center piece of 5” square sheet puff pastry. Lightly apply some water along both side edges of the pastry. Fold the pastry over the filling from the top and bottom, then press firmly along the edges to seal tightly. Press the tines of the fork on both fold side edges. Make sure there are no gaps to the sauce stays securely inside.

9. Place the pastry on the baking sheet with seal side down.

10. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with some white and black sesame seeds.

11. Preheat the oven and bake at 230℃ for 25 to 30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baked Cassava or Tapioca Cake （烤木薯糕）

-
Image
Cassava or tapioca cake can be prepared in several methods, including baking, steaming and wrapping in banana leaves. It can be made with or without eggs and with or without butter. Today, I am going to share how to bake cassava or tapioca cake. Tapioca cake is very easy to make, whether to steam or to bake. The only tedious part is grating. I used to grate them into fine silk manually. But now I blend them with Thermomix to paste form. If you are using a regular blender, add a little water to the blender to blend it together. This cassava cake has a beautiful burnt skin on top and dense golden color inside. My daughter thought it was burnt cheesecake. The texture is soft but firm and not too sticky compared to the steam type. Every bite taste of cassava, coconut milk and the burnt aroma. Not overly sweet and greasy. If using a blender, cut the tapioca into smaller chunks, then carefully cut out the tough, fibrous core from the middle of each piece using a knife.   Once the t...
Read more

Ondeh-Ondeh in 3 flavour （椰丝球）

-
Image
Today made a popular dessert in Malaysia, “Ondeh Ondeh”, a type of Nyonya recipe. It is also called “Buah Melaka” because it looks like the fruit of the Malacca tree. The procedure of making is easy. The flavoured glutinous rice balls have grated fresh coconut on the outside and melting Gula Melaka, or palm sugar, inside. The white, milky coconut shreds and little balls of various colours appear fresh and natural. and has a charming appearance. The glutinous rice balls, soft glutinous and chewy are determined by the amount of water and cooking time. The softer the rice balls, the more water and more time it boiled. We like our coconut shreds to be moist and crisp, the melted Gula Melaka to be rich and flavorful, and the texture to be somewhat mushy and sticky. It seems like the nostalgic flavour of my childhood is returning. In addition to the traditional pandan flavour, I have included instructions for making it with sweet potatoes and pumpkin. Of all the flavours of "ondeh...
Read more

Canned braised pork belly (罐头扣肉）

-
Image
A must-have dish for the Lunar New Year is steamed braised pork ( 扣肉 ). Some people enjoy making braised pork with yam, while others prefer to use preserved veggies. The key to making braised pork is to boil the meat first, then deep-fry it, and finally steam it. The sauces are the key to enhancing the flavor of the braised pork with either yam or preserved veggies. Of course, choosing pork that is half-fat and lean pork belly tastes the best is also crucial.   You can choose how thinly you want the pork slices. I sliced my pork to a thinness of 10 to 15 mm thinness.  Another crucial tip is to just use wine and no water when preparing the braised pork. I'm using Shaoxing wine, and it's been proven that the more wine you use, the tastier and more fragrant the meat will be and that the meat will remain fragrant after stewing. As I mentioned, this braised pork needs to boil first, then be deep-fried.  For those who find frying meat is very troublesome , you can wash, cut...
Read more