Cha Chaan Teng’s Braised Beef Short Rib Bao Burger

I’ve been a fan of Jeremy Pang and his School of Wok for a long time; I’ve attended a lot of classes in a lot of cookery schools over the years and Jeremy’s is one of the best. Attending a class there is hugely enjoyable and delicious, as it is at many schools, but the way the classes are structured and the quality of teaching are particularly effective here.

Jeremy’s first book, Chinese Unchopped, is similarly helpful in demystifying Chinese cooking without losing flavour or authenticity.

Cha Chaan Teng

Last year saw the launch of Jeremy’s first restaurant venture – he’s the ‘executive development chef‘ of Cha Chaan Teng, a few steps down Kingsway from Holborn station. Named for the cha chaan teng tea cafes of Hong Kong, the menu is a fusion of English and Chinese dishes, with a few nods to cha chaan teng classics such as toasted bread rolls with condensed milk and a spam and macaroni soup.

The decor, it must be said, it not at all reminiscent of the original cafes in which one is often crammed together with other customers, sharing a worn but clean formica tables, sat on rickety stools or chairs. You’re in and out fast after enjoying your cheap comfort-food meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In the restaurant it’s all padded leather banquettes (albeit with a retro diner kind of aesthetic) and snogging couples who really need to get a room!

Since the restaurant’s launch, customers have been enjoying Jeremy’s slider-style bao burgers featuring a range of fillings including braised beef, hoisin duck, sweet and sour chicken, fried aubergine and sweet potato. To celebrate these delicious bao I went along to attend a hands-on bao making lesson in which we learned how to make the dough and how to shape it for both slider baos and traditional filled closed bao.

 

If you want to have a go, here are the recipes for fluffy white bao buns with a braised beef short rib filling plus the finishing sauce and garnishes.

Cha Chaan Teng’s Braised Beef Short Rib Bao Burger

Overnight Pickled Carrot and Coriander (Garnish)

Ingredients
100ml rice vinegar
100ml water
30g sugar
5g salt
5ml sesame oil
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 small handful coriander, roughly torn

Method

  • The night before you want to make the bao burgers, make your pickled carrot.
  • Combine all ingredients save your carrot and coriander and stir or shake in a lidded jar to fully dissolve sugar. Then, add in your sliced carrot, seal with lid or cover with cling film, and leave to pickle overnight in the fridge. Right before serving your baos, add your freshly torn coriander.

Slow Braised Chilli Beef Short Rib

Ingrediens
5 whole beef short ribs
Braising liquid:
2 cloves, chopped garlic
1 thumb ginger, chopped
5-6 spring onions, sliced into thin rounds
1 tsp. chilli flakes
1 tbsp. fermented black beans
1-2 tbsp. sambal chilli paste
4 tbsp. oyster sauce
3 tbsp. oyster sauce
4 tbsp. Ching kiang black vinegar
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
500ml beef stock (for slow cooking)

Method

  • Begin by combining all of the braising liquid ingredients. Then, in a saucepan set on a medium heat quickly fry off the chopped garlic, ginger, and sliced spring onions. Once softened and fragrant, add the braising liquid and bring to a boil.
  • In a separate large pan over a high heat, sear the short ribs on all sides to seal in their flavour.
  • Once your braising liquid is boiling, place the ribs into the sauce and allow to simmer, making sure to baste the ribs with the sauce, keeping them well coated (approx. five minutes)
  • Transfer ribs and sauce to a large roasting tray, covering completely with beef stock. Place ribs into a pre-heated 140C oven for eight hours, to create incredibly tender and intensely flavourful short ribs.
  • Once cooked, slice the meat off the bone and reserve the braising liquid.

Bao Burger Dough Recipe

Ingredients
530g Yellow Kirin Middle Gluten Wheat Flour
15g baking powder
2g salt
50ml Milk
300ml warm water
25ml vegetable oil
8g fast action dried yeast
30g caster Sugar

Method

Preparing the bao dough:

  • Into a free standing mixer (if available) pour in the yellow kirin flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and yeast and start to combine on a low setting. After this stage you’ll want to switch from a paddle to a dough hook if available.
  • In a separate container combine the milk, warm water and vegetable oil. Then slowly pour the liquid into the mixer and knead on a low to medium speed for 2-3 minutes until all of the water is mixed into the flour.
  • Once combined, knead on a high speed for approx. 2 minutes until the dough has a smooth-yet-tacky feel to it.
  • Cover the dough with 1 tbsp. vegetable oil, followed by a damp cloth.
  • Rest dough in a warm, preferably moist, draft-free location such as an oven for up to one hour.

Make the bao burger shapes as follows:

  • Once the dough has rested, separate the dough into balls, roughly ping pong size (20g). Then, flatten half of the number of balls you created to make your buns and brush each bun lightly with oil.
  • Place the remaining balls on top of each of the flattened and oiled pieces, pressing down with a domed or cup shaped palm to create height.
  • Once all of the burgers have been shaped, spray with cold water and cover with a damp cloth, allowing them to prove in a warm, draft-free environment for another 15-20 minutes.
  • When you are ready to serve, steam each bun in a closed steam basket over a wok with boiling water for approx. 8 minutes.

Beef Bao Finishing Sauce

Ingredients
100ml reserved braising sauce
50ml water
50ml vegetable stock
100ml sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

Method

  • Mix together all of your finishing sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce by half until a thick, syrupy texture is reached.

Assembling the Bao Burgers

Ingredients
Bao burger buns
Braised beef short Rib, removed from the bone
Finshing Sauce
Carrot and coriander pickle
A handful of watercress
Thin slices of red onion
Optional: skewer per bao burger

Method

  • To fill your bao first add your shredded beef rib to the base of your bun, topped with your carrot pickle and 1 tablespoon of finishing sauce, and finally the top bun.
  • For best results (to keep your bao buns together) add a skewer through the middle and serve.

Kavey Eats attended the bao making event as a guest of Cha Chaan Teng. Recipe text and images provided by Cha Chaan Teng. Recipe order reworked for clarity.

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24 Comments to "Cha Chaan Teng’s Braised Beef Short Rib Bao Burger"

  1. Lisa Feinson

    And a very lovely place it is too. I loved my bao, all of them!

    Reply
  2. Alyssa

    Wow! This is so impressive AND you have a recipe for homemade bao buns? I love recipes with a bunch of homemade components where I can spend a few hours in the kitchen. It’s so relaxing!

    Reply
  3. Becca Talbot

    I love Jeremy Pang – he’s the ambassador for Symphony Kitchens, so when I worked at MKM (a builders merchants that sells Symphony), we were visited by him a few times 🙂 These recipes sound delicious, I’d definitely make them! x

    Reply
  4. Rachael

    Oh wow that burger looks delicious, I’m glad it’s lunch time because I need to fill myself with something tasty after seeing this!
    I’ve seen Jeremy Wang a few times on things like Saturday Kitchen, this restaurant looks lovely. I’ve got a long list of restaurants that have come recommended all over the country, in case we’re ever somewhere and don’t know where to eat, and I’ve just added this one to the list!
    Great post, I’ve bookmarked these recipes too!

    Reply
  5. Nayna Kanabar

    Jeremy’s classes are indeed very interactive and fun to attend. Its great to hear that he has set this new restaurant up. Lovely recipes and home made Bao burger buns!! Very impressive.

    Reply
  6. Lindsay Cotter

    this might be my dream restaurant to visit! not to mention these recipes.Short ribs = HEAVEN. and that pickled carrot. YESSS! Way to capture the mood for this place. LOVE IT!

    Reply
  7. Karen

    Oh my gosh, that braised beef burger looks and sounds delicious. Looks like a great place to visit!

    Reply
  8. Lisa

    You are killing me here! This sounds so amazing, but I’ve been on a no-carb, no-fun diet for the last two months… Ugh!

    Reply
  9. Bintu

    That burger is a wow burger! Love the recipe for braised beef short rib, an interesting recipe for that bao bun too.

    Reply
  10. Janice

    I’ve still never managed to have a bao bun and I so want to. I can see that I’m just going to have to follow your recipe and make some myself! I’ll look out for Jeremy’s books too as they sound excellent.

    Reply
  11. Rachel

    Ohhhh Wow..That burger looks appetizing. Absolutely loved it. Gonna try them all when I visit this place.

    Reply
  12. Janette

    This is a great write- up and I need to check this restaurant out the next time I’m in England because the short ribs are making my mouth water.

    Reply
  13. Sandra

    Bao sliders have to be the most unique twist to the traditional dish! Love the pillowy dough and it doesn’t look too difficult to try at home.

    Reply
  14. Debra C.

    I just can’t imagine how flavorful and amazing these burgers would be! They look absolutely amazing, time to make some sliders!!

    Reply

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