Siopao

(Or Sho Bao)

Siopao is another Chinese specialty that was introduced as a street food, peddled and popularized by a Chinese immigrant to the Philippines named Ma Mon Luk.

Ma Mon Luk became known for his Siopao with his noodle soup called Mami (pronounced mom-mi). He started as a street peddler with a bamboo pole hung on his shoulders catering to University students in Manila in the mid 1900’s. He opened his restaurant after WWII in Manila specializing in the pair, Mami and Siopao, copied but not equaled because of his secret sauce for Siopao.

The name became a household term, even to us kids. People would make a special trip to his restaurant just to have his siopao. We did, with my parents when I was a kid and with my aunt and uncle also. My uncle sometimes brought home siopao from Ma Mon Luk for my aunt and me when I stayed with them as a kid. And when I grew up and in college, I had also gone to eat there with friends. His restaurant became so successful that he opened more Ma Mon Luk restaurants around Manila and are still very popular to this day. Siopao and Mami at Ma Mon Luk’s are still sought after even now, and the name Ma Mon Luk is still known to all even if it has already been passed down to the third generation.

Of course I have not heard of Ma Mon Luk in over 50 years because I do not live in the Philippines and had no idea what came upon his restaurant until I ran across the name on the Internet. This Internet is amazing!

Below is how to make Siopao, very close but not quite the same as Ma Mon Luk’s.

Filling:

2 lbs. pork loin, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 Green onions, chopped
2 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS Hoisin Sauce
1 pinch Chinese Five Spice (optional)

2 TBS Oyster Sauce
2 TBS Brown sugar
1 tsp. Sesame oil
¼ c water
1 TBS Cornstarch dissolved in
2 TBS water
6 eggs, hard boiled, each cut into fourths.

Sauté garlic and onions until onions are soft and transparent. Add the pork and cook stirring until white. Stir in the green onions. Stir in the rest except the eggs and the cornstarch in water. Simmer in medium low heat until most of the water is evaporated and the pork is tender. Stir in the dissolved cornstarch and remove from heat. Cool.

For the dough:

6 c flour
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
3 tsp/ Salt
1 cup white sugar
1 c Shortening
1 pkg. yeast (2 1/4 tsp. bottled yeast)

Dissolve yeast in 1-cup lukewarm water. Mix flour, and salt. Add 1-cup of mixture to the yeast mixture and mix thoroughly and let rise 30 minutes to 1 hour until bubbles appear. Dissolve sugar in ½ c hot water and add to yeast mixture. Add the rest of the flour and shortening. Knead and let rise 30 minutes or until double. Punch dough and knead. Cut in half. Roll each half into 12” x 2” logs, and then cut into 12 pieces each to make 24 pieces.

Roll each piece into a ball and flatten to about 3” dia. Place 1 slice of egg in the center of dough and 1 TBS of filling (The egg quarter can be cut into 3 pieces so it won’t cut through the dough). Gather the ends maintaining the shape of a small ball and pinch to seal. Put the sealed end on a cut piece of parchment paper. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for another hour. Steam for 20 minutes. Serve warm or freeze to keep. Re-steam for 10 minutes when frozen or heat in microwave.

Bread Machine Method:

The dough can be mixed and kneaded in the Dough/Pizza dough set-up in a bread machine. The ingredients have to be placed in this order:

Warm Water (not hotter than 90 deg. F)
Sugar
Salt
Shortening (cut in pieces)
Flour, make a well at the top and put the yeast in the well
Remove from the machine after rising.

I found the Sriracha Chili Sauce (the red sauce that is popular in Vietnamese cuisine) is a good sauce for the Siopao. Try it.

Siopao is also good eaten with Sotanghon soup, or any Chinese soup like Wonton soup, Hot and Sour soup or Egg drop soup. It is a delicious and nutritious comfort food.