At the table
Lift gently onto your plate; the layers shed crumbs. Cut with utensils to share, and try a small first bite because the filling may be hot. Eat the pastry; remove any paper liner if supplied.
Contains pork, lard, wheat, egg, sesame, soy and oyster sauce. Compound sauces vary; butter-based pastries also contain dairy.
No chili is added in this version. Five-spice is aromatic rather than a fixed chili heat; other recipes and condiments differ.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Pastry fats, glaze, seasoning and shape vary. This recipe chooses honey rather than the alternative maltose glaze.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Sweet-savory roast pork, aromatic spices and rich pastry.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Flaky, crumbly layers around moist pork filling.
- How it’s made
- Seasoned pork is roasted, chopped and combined with thickened sauce, then enclosed in layered pastry and baked.
Pastry fats, glaze, seasoning and shape vary. This recipe chooses honey rather than the alternative maltose glaze.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Guangdong. Associated with Hong Kong.
About this regional connection
Guangdong: Cantonese dim sum identity; no exclusive origin claim. Hong Kong: Cantonese dim sum identity; no exclusive origin claim.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有蜜汁叉烧酥吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
Pastry, not a steamed bun
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
Char siu can fill several Cantonese dim sum. Here it sits inside baked flaky pastry; a char siu bao instead has a soft bun wrapper.