Destination
Manila
The story
Ube siopao is the modern Filipino twist on the classical siopao (Chinese-Filipino steamed bun): a soft, pillowy yeasted dough is tinted purple with ube extract or ube powder, filled with a sweet purple-yam-and-coconut jam (ube halaya), steamed 15 minutes until fluffy, and served warm as a dessert or a sweet merienda snack. Sold at trendy Manila and Cebu bakeries (Kabisera, Sebastian's Ice Cream), at modern Filipino restaurants in the diaspora, and increasingly at home. The dish is a 2010s invention that turned the traditional savoury Chinese-Filipino siopao (usually filled with asado pork or bola-bola meatballs) into a purple sweet treat.
Method
If using fresh ube: peel, cube and boil 20 minutes until fork-tender; drain and mash. If using powder: whisk with the water and rest 30 minutes. If using pre-made halaya: skip to next step.
In a heavy saucepan, combine the mashed ube (or hydrated powder), coconut milk, evaporated milk, sugar, butter, ube extract, vanilla and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 45 to 60 minutes until the mixture thickens to a very thick jam that pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely.
In a large bowl, whisk warm milk, warm water and 1 tbsp of the sugar. Sprinkle yeast over. Rest 5 minutes until foamy. Add remaining sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, oil, ube extract and egg. Mix and knead 10 minutes until smooth, elastic and deep purple. Cover with a damp towel and rest 60 to 90 minutes until doubled.
Punch down the dough. Divide into 12 equal balls. Cover with a damp towel to prevent drying.
Working with one ball at a time: flatten between your palms into a 12cm disc, keeping the middle slightly thicker than the edges. Place a heaped tablespoon of cooled ube halaya in the middle. Gather the edges up around the filling, pinching them together at the top into small pleats. Twist to seal. Set seam-down on a square of baking paper.
Arrange the wrapped buns on their baking paper squares in bamboo steamer baskets (or on a tray), spacing them 5cm apart. Cover and let rise 30 minutes at warm room temperature until visibly puffed.
Set up the steamer over a wok of simmering water. Steam the buns 12 to 15 minutes over medium-high heat. Do not open the lid during steaming — cold air makes the buns collapse.
Turn off the heat and rest the buns in the covered steamer 5 minutes before opening (this prevents sudden temperature-drop collapse). Lift out. Serve warm. The interior should be pillowy purple bread; the ube halaya inside should be jam-like and hot. Best within 30 minutes of steaming.
Tips
- Fresh ube if you can find it. Fresh purple yam gives you the deepest flavour and colour. Ube powder is the practical modern substitute; jarred ube halaya is the shortcut.
- Cook the halaya thick. Under-thickened halaya leaks out of the bun during steaming and burns onto the paper. Cook until it holds a heavy peak on a spoon.
- Ube extract deepens the colour. Without extract, the buns will be a pale lavender-purple. With extract, they're a vibrant deep purple. Add gradually — a little goes far.
- Do not open the steamer. The lid stays on for the full 12-15 minutes. Even peeking causes the buns to deflate.
- Rest before opening. The 5-minute rest with the heat off and lid on prevents the sudden temperature drop that collapses siopao. Not optional.
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