Char siu bao
叉燒包caa1 siu1 baau1say char-shoo BOW
A fluffy bun bursting with barbecued pork.
- First record
- 1919 · Modern & global
- Fold
- Bun
- Cooked
- Steamed
Anatomy
Inside
- Wrapper
- Yeasted wheat doughLeavened, split top
- Filling
- Barbecue pork
- Cooked
- Steamed
- Size
- About 6 cm across
Tastes of
- barbecue pork
- oyster sauce
- honey
Texture
- cottony bun
- sticky filling
Field notes
Story
Leavened bun filled with sweet-savoury Cantonese barbecued pork. Since baking powder arrived in the late 1930s, the top splits open as it steams; older buns were closed.
- How to eat it
- Peel off the paper base and eat by hand.
- When
- Yum cha.
Did you know Hawaii's manapua descends from char siu bao brought by Chinese immigrants.
Range
Where
From Guangdong.
Pin · Guangdong (pinned at Guangzhou); He Shihuang says only 'by Cantonese chefs' · region (first-level subdivision), not a town
- OriginGuangzhou · Lingnan · city · Cantonese
How sure we are
Evidence
Reasonably sure. Reference works agree, but we have not yet found a dated or primary source.
We list 3 sources: 2 secondary, 1 unverified. How grading works.
First record Late 1930s: baking powder gives the modern split-top bun, per master He Shihuang in Guangzhou Daily 2019 (S); invention date unknown
Sources
- S
Char siu bao is one of the four kings of Cantonese yum cha; context of the 1920s–30s Guangzhou teahouse boom.
- S
Dim sum master He Shihuang (何世晃): when char siu bao was invented 'cannot be known', but it is 'at least 100 years old' and certainly the work of Cantonese chefs. Early buns were closed, birdcage-shaped (禾谷嘴); in the…
Dim sum master He Shihuang (何世晃): when char siu bao was invented 'cannot be known', but it is 'at least 100 years old' and certainly the work of Cantonese chefs. Early buns were closed, birdcage-shaped (禾谷嘴); in the late 1930s baking powder was introduced, producing today's split ('laughing') top. - G
search-result summary (Baidu Baike 广东叉烧包 / blogs)
Popular claim: c. 1920 Datong teahouse (大同茶楼), Taiping South Road, Guangzhou, launched a large 'three-star bun' that made the char siu bao famous. Unsourced; seen only in a search summary.
Found by research and reviewed, October 2026.
The tagline and story are editorial; facts trace to the atlas research. History sources are from the atlas and not yet independently checked.
Family A
