Siopao is the Philippine indigenized version of the Cantonese steamed bun called cha siu bao. Siopao was popularized in the Philippines by Ma Mon Luk, a Cantonese immigrant street vendor who created noodle soup around the 1920s.
Well known in the Bicol region since the 1970s, Toasted Siopao is made from slightly hard dough, filled with ground or chopped pork meat, onions, potato, and a slice of boiled egg. The dough is also shaped with pleats on top but unlike a regular siopao, Toasted Siopao is baked until crispy and golden brown in color.
The Naga Garden Restaurant and Romero’s Bakery made their own version of toasted siopao. In the early 1970s, Naga Garden Restaurant made toasted siopao as an accompaniment to noodle soup or stir-fry noodles. It is filled with flavored pork meat with a slice of boiled egg. The Romero’s Bakery version, however, combined chopped meat with a generous amount of white onions, potato, and sliced boiled egg. Both toasted siopaos were dense, flavorful, and crispy,
In the 1990s, the Sta Maria Family owner of 3N Bakery put it into mass production. 3N’s toasted siopao is crispy and dense. It is filled with ground pork meat, red onions, potato, Chinese sausage, and sliced boiled egg. However, it is filled, Toasted siopao is definitely a treat.
Try our toasted siopao recipe in the comfort of your home. You can use your bread mixer (instead of a roller) by adjusting the water content of the recipe.
Happy Baking!
How To Make Toasted Siopao:
| Ingredients | Weight (grams) |
| General Hard Flour | 600 |
| Islands Soft Flour | 400 |
| Bakers Choice Bread Improver | 4 |
| Bakers Choice Baking Powder | 3 |
| Red Star Instant Yeast | 7 |
| Refined Sugar | 150 |
| Iodized Salt | 10 |
| Vanilla | 5 |
| Water | 380-400 |
| Shortening | 50 |
Procedure:
- In a bowl, combine refined sugar, iodized salt, vanilla and water.
- In a separate bowl, combine General Hard Flour, Islands Soft Flour, Bakers Choice Bread Improver, Bakers Choice Baking powder and Red Star Instant Yeast
- Combine the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture.
- Add the shortening to the dough. Knead by hand until a dough ball forms.
- Pass the dough thru the roller several times until smooth and elastic/ fully developed.
- Divide by 60 grams each and shape into a ball.
- Flatten the dough. Place 35 grams meat filling and a sliced boiled egg at the center.
- Using your fingers, make pleats to decorate and seal the dough on top.
- Place a wax paper at the bottom of the filled siopao dough.
- Brush with egg wash. Proof for 30 minutes
- Bake @ 170 deg C for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
