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Dimsums are great for snacks, and as a business, they require minimal capital and are easy to make. This time, we’ll teach you how to make puto-pao, a bun with asado toppings or fillings.

You‘ll need the following to get started: bowls, ladle, wooden ladle or whip, spatula, measuring spoons and cups, kitchen weighing scale, serving tray, pressure cooker or casserole, wok or skillet, steamer, knives, and gas stove.

You can buy the ingredients at the supermarket or public market; the rest you’ll probably already have in your own kitchen.

To make it, you’ll need the following ingredients:

1/2 kg all-purpose flour
250 g white sugar
1/4 cup baking powder
2-1/2 cup water
3 tbsp or 30g melted butter

For the asado, on the other hand, you’ll need the following ingredients:

1/2 kg of ground lean pork
1 piece laurel leaf
1 piece star anise
1/2 cup or 112ml of soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup or 125g of white sugar
1tsp or 2g cornstarch
2 cloves garlic

Start by cooking the asado. While preheating the pan or a skillet over low heat, mince the garlic. Once the pan is hot enough, put all the ingredients together. Mix them to a good blend. Continue mixing until the meat is cooked and becomes tender. Discard the star anise and the laurel once the meat gets tender. (The star anise and laurel leaf are only meant to give a savory aroma to your dish.)

So the meat won’t become crispy, don’t sauté or braise it. Cook it only in water and soy sauce. Let the meat absorb all the liquid until it dries out. After that, turn off the stove and set the cooked meat or asado aside. This asado can fill four sets of your bun recipe. Let it cool and start doing the buns.

Get all the dry ingredients and mix them in a bowl. Then add water. Using a wooden ladle or whip, dissolve all the ingredients. Continue mixing them until you achieve a smooth texture. Make sure all the lumps are dissolved. Then add the melted butter (you could also use cooking oil as an alternative). Mix. You’ll know when the mix is ready for steaming when there are no lumps left.

Josie de Jesus, lecturer at the baking division of Ultima Entrepinoy Forum Center, advises that you shouldn’t re-steam puto-paos repeatedly. Once re-steamed, they should be consumed at once, she says. Otherwise, the quality and taste of the putopao deteriorates and it becomes prone to spoilage.

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