Siopao Recipe (Easy Asado and Bola Bola Recipe)

Siopao is the Filipino version of the Chinese steamed buns. There are a lot of siopao recipes available online and I have tried several of those recipes. Some of it worked well while others did not. Hence, I thought of making  my own recipe to share. If this is your first time making siopao, don’t worry, I provided photos of the process, so you’ll be guided. 

Moreover, if you’re interested to turning this into business, I will also share some ideas and tips that I’ve learned and collected while researching for the perfect siopao recipe.

So Let’s get ninja.

Siopao dough ingredients are easy to find - so you don’t have any excuse not to try this recipe.

Ingredients:

3 cups All purpose flour

3 tsp yeast
1 cup luke warm water
4 tbsp sugar
¼ cup shortening (Crisco or Purico)
1 tsp salt

Preparing the siopao dough
1. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water.
2. When dissolve, add sugar, salt and shortening. Mix thoroughly. 

3. In a separate bowl, combine the mixture and the flour. Mix thoroughly and knead until smooth. 

4. Cover with cheese cloth and set aside. Let dough rise for 1 hour or until double in size. 

5. Divide dough into 12-24 pieces or depending on desired size.
6. Form into balls, and then flatten to create disc shape dough. Set aside for another 30-40 minutes.










Here’s the part where I made a little trick. During my first trials in siopao making I used to use siomai as my bola-bola filling (No sweat in preparation). While for the asado filling, I use an instant asado mix (McCormick's tangy stew seasoning mix) to simplify the process.But if in case, this instant mix isn’t available in your area or store, here’s the basic recipe for asado and bola-bola filling.

Preparing the siopao filling: 

1 kilo meat (sliced thinly)
1 pack McCormick Asado Mix, 60g
2 ½ cup water

1. Dissolve 1 pack Asado mix in water. 

2. Add in meat slices.
3. Boil until meat is tender and sauce thickens. Much better if you cook until almost dries up.

(Note: You can use beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, and tuna meat as filling.
You can also incorporate sliced hard boiled eggs or salted duck eggs to make it extra special)


Filling the Dough:
1. Put 1 tbsp of meat filling in center of the siopao dough.

2. Bring edges of dough up surrounding the filling. Then press and pinch edges of the dough together. Make sure to seal all the edges to prevent the filling from oozing out during cooking.

3. Place siopao on slightly oiled wax paper ( about 4 square inch size).

4. Steam siopao for 20-30 minutes or until done. Line steamer with cheesecloth to prevent droplets from dropping onto siopao’s surface. Refrain from reopening the lid during the steaming process, as it might affect the siopao’s softness, texture and color.