Siopao (Filipino Style)

My husband loves to eat these for breakfast so I usually will spend on a weekend and make a batch, cook them and freeze for future use.


Ingredients:

400 grams ground pork
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 onion (chopped)
3 tbs soy sauce
1 star anise or cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
black pepper (to taste)
5 1/2 tbs sugar
1 tsp cooking oil
1/4 c water
1 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 c water (lukewarm)
1 tbs dry yeast
4 1/2 c rice flour
3 tbs vegetable oil
wax paper (for steaming)

Filling:

In a sauce pan, heat 1 tsp cooking oil and brown ground pork. Add garlic, onion, bay leaf, anise, soy sauce, black pepper, and 3 tbs sugar. In a separate bowl, dissolve cornstarch with 1/4 c water. Add to the meat mixture. Cook for 5-8 minutes until mixture is thick and almost dry. Set aside.
Dough:

In a bowl, combine 2 tbs yeast and lukewarm water. Let stand for 10 minutes or until bubbly, without stirring. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 c sugar and 3 tbs vegetable oil. Pour in the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. The dough will be soft. Transfer mixture to a floured board and knead with your hands, using a pushing motion, until the dough is smooth (about 10 minutes). Form into a ball. Lightly oil a glass mixing bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with a clean damp kitchen towel for two hours or until double in size. Punch down once, recover with a towel and leave to rise again for another 30 minutes. Divide the dough into two. Form each half into a rod by hand rolling it on the board. Cut each rod into 8-10 pieces. Take each piece of dough and flatten it using the palm of your hands, pulling sides to form a circle. Place about a spoonfull of the meat mixture in the center and pull up the sides, twisting at the top until the meat is securely stuffed inside the dough. Place each siopao on a piece of wax paper and arrange on a steamer. Steam over a boiling water for about 20 minutes.