Homemade Chinese BBQ Pork Pastry (Char Siu Sou)

Make the char siu filling:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of avocado oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add in the shallot, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until lightly softened.
3. Next, add in the diced char siu and stir for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Add in the soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, tapioca starch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of cold water. Give it a stir.
5. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, and then drizzle in 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
6. Remove from heat and let cool.

Make the pastry dough:

Water dough:

1. In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and cold salted butter. Use a fork to cut the butter into the flour.
2. Add in the avocado oil and water.
3. Mix until the dough comes together.
4. Add 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour and knead until the dough becomes smooth.
5. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for about 20 minutes.

Oil dough/paste:

1. In a small bowl, combine the cake/pastry flour together with the oil.
2. Stir with a spoon until it becomes a smooth paste. Set aside.

Assemble:

1. Divide the water dough into 10 equal portions.
2. Roll out the dough into a flat square.
3. Spread 1 tablespoon of oil paste in the centre of the dough (be careful not to get to close to the edge).
4. Fold over dough in half and press down to seal the seams.
5. Gently press down the dough and flatten.
6. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a slender rectangle.
7. Coil the dough up (like making a jelly roll) and turn it 90 degrees. Flatten and repeat.
8. Roll out the dough again, coil it up and turn it 90 degrees another 2 more times. (This produces the flaky layers).
9. Once the dough is rolled out to a long rectangle, add 1.5 teaspoon of (about 18g) of char siu filling to the centre.
10. Fold up the dough to cover the filling and seal/crimp the edges with a fork.
11. Place the pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
12. Repeat with the remainder.

Bake:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/204°C.
2. Brush the tops of the pastries with lightly beaten egg (egg wash).
3. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
4. Bake at 400°F/204°C for 5 minutes, and then reduce to 350°F/177°C for another 20-25 minutes, until puffy and golden brown.
5. Serve warm.