In Penang, we stopped at a food store and, out front, on display were newly baked breads. One of them was called siew pau.
I bought a few pieces and we ate them in the taxi on the way back to the pier. Delicious. The curious thing is how much siew pau sounds like siopao. Yet, the siew pau is baked and the bread is flaky (like puff pastry but more substantial which makes it similar to flaky hopia), unlike the siopao which is steamed and the bread is soft.
But the similarity between the siew pau and the siopao does not end there. The siew pau’s filling is char siu pork or what we know in the Philippines as Chinese asado, one of the most popular siopao filling.
I have no doubt that both the siew pau and the siopao are local versions of the Chinese char siu bau which, interestingly, comes in two varieties — steamed and baked. Why the Malaysians adopted the baked version while the Filipinos opted for the steamed version is a puzzle to me.
looks so pretty I wanna one of these
“Siew pau” and “siopao” are two different spellings of the same Chinese word. Read both aloud and hear that they sound identical.
The last character is spelled as “bao”, which is the correct Pinyin romanization (officially used in China in 1958).
Baked or steamed, depends on which region of China they are from. Ethnic Chinese in Malaysia and Ethnic Chinese who settled in the Philippines are from close enough regions in China that food and language are almost identical. In the US, Chinese stores have both versions of the “bbq pork buns” available.
Actually, these–char siu bao, siew pao, siopao, etc–are different pronunciations of the same thing. You’re absolutely right, Ms. Connie; written in the same Chinese characters, but pronounced/spelled–and inevitably adapted–to local cultures. :p
Asado rolls (found in Goldilocks and hopia stores like Salazar) are the local “baked” version of the siopao. It seems pinoys love their pastries full and bready, compared to light and flaky.
Hi all, i am writing your from Riyadh, KSA. Speaking of “paos” we have here what we call the “puto pao,” it’s a combination of our regular puto puti filled with the regular siopao chicken asado. Additionally, we also have the bread-type siopao here, it’s like our regular “monay” filled with siopa’s chicken filling, but unlike the siew pau, the bread is not flaky.
We do have both and steamed version. Love them both!
There’s a Siew Pao King beside Han Pao at Liberty Center. Haven’t tried it though. Now i’m curious.
do you have recipe for this seiw pao,they look so yummy..it makes me hungry.
I wish I did.