Keke Pua’a

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 80 gsugar
• 7 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 300 mlwarm water
• 3 tablespoonsoil
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder

Filling

• 600 gminced pork
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 3 tablespoonssoy sauce
• 1 tablespoonoyster sauce
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• 2spring onions, chopped
• 1 tablespooncornflour
• salt and black pepper

To finish

• squares of baking paper
• for steaming
• 1beaten egg, for baking

To serve

• hot from the steamer or oven
• at roadside shops and canteens
• koko Samoa or tea

Directions

1. Heat a little oil in a wide pan. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Cook them for a good six minutes. Add the garlic and the grated ginger. Cook them for another full minute. Add the minced pork to the pan. Break it up thoroughly with a spoon.
2. Fry it hard until no pink remains. Give it about eight minutes of frying. Let any liquid cook away entirely. Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Add the sugar and black pepper.
3. Stir it all through the cooked pork. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed. Mix the cornflour with a little water. Stir that paste into the hot pork. Let it bubble for a minute to thicken. It should hold together in a spoon.
4. Add the chopped spring onions at the end. Spread the filling on a wide plate. Let it cool completely to room temperature. Warm filling melts the dough as you fill. Warm the water to blood temperature.
5. Stir the yeast and a little sugar into it. Let it stand until it foams up. Give it about ten minutes to foam. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the baking powder to it as well. Pour in the foaming yeast liquid. Add the oil into the bowl as well. Bring it together into a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface.
6. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It should become smooth and springy. Put the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm. Let it roughly double in size. Give it an hour or a little more.
7. Divide it into even sized pieces. Roll each into a ball and flatten it. Roll it out into a circle by hand. Keep the middle thicker than the edge. Even thickness gives a thick lumpy top. Put a spoonful of cold filling in the centre. Do not overfill any one of them.
8. Pleat them as you turn the bun. Pinch the top firmly to seal it. Twist off any excess dough at the top. Set each bun on a square of paper. Cover them loosely with a cloth. Let them prove for thirty minutes. Bring water to a boil in a steamer.
9. Set the buns in with space between them. Cover it and steam them steadily. Give them about fifteen minutes. Wrap the lid in a cloth to catch it. That keeps the tops smooth and white.
10. Heat the oven to two hundred degrees. Set the buns out on a lined tray. Brush them all over with beaten egg. Bake them for about twenty minutes. They should be deep golden on top. Peel the paper off the base first. They are eaten out of hand warm.

Technique

• This is the Chinese filled bun adapted in Samoan bakeries after Chinese traders and workers came to the Pacific, with the filling shifted towards local tastes and the bun itself usually sweeter than the Chinese original.
• They are made steamed or baked and both are genuinely sold in Samoa: steaming gives a white and very soft bun, baking a golden and firmer one, and roadside shops sell both.
• The pork is cooked and then cooled completely before filling, since a wet or warm filling makes the dough soggy, can burst the bun and melts the dough as you work; cornflour binds the juices into the filling.

Substitutions

• Baking powder alongside the yeast gives a lighter whiter steamed bun.
• Chicken mince works in place of pork for the same filling.

Variations

• They are steamed white or baked golden with an egg wash.
• Some bakeries make the dough noticeably sweeter than others.
• Curried or corned beef fillings are made alongside the pork.

History

A Chinese-influenced bun adopted into Samoan bakeries and sold from roadside shops and school canteens.

Frequently asked questions

What is Keke Pua’a?

Keke Pua’a is a street food from Samoa: steamed or baked buns filled with seasoned minced pork. A Chinese-influenced bun adopted into Samoan bakeries and sold from roadside shops and school canteens.

How long does Keke Pua’a take to make?

Keke Pua’a takes 45 minutes plus rising of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 buns. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Keke Pua’a?

Yes, within limits. Baking powder alongside the yeast gives a lighter whiter steamed bun. Chicken mince works in place of pork for the same filling.

What is the most important thing to get right in Keke Pua’a?

Divide it into even sized pieces. Roll each into a ball and flatten it. Roll it out into a circle by hand. Keep the middle thicker than the edge. Even thickness gives a thick lumpy top. Put a spoonful of cold filling in the centre. Do not overfill any one of them.