Frozen char siu bao

Does anyone know where to find pre-made (frozen) char siu bao (BBQ pork buns)? I tried Wong's Food City on 26th because someone on Chowhound mentioned a while ago that they had a lot of frozen bao. Indeed, they had several freezers full of dumplings, but the ones I bought that looked the most like they'd be bbq pork buns turned out to be something very different. Also didn't see any at Chicago Food Corp on Kimball, though maybe I just missed them.

So I guess I'm also soliciting suggestions for particular brands by name or package description - or even better, a storefront that makes their own and sells them. I know you can get them at a lot of bakeries, but those are fresh, and I'd like some I can just take out of my freezer occasionally and warm up. Thanks!

I have seen frozen bao at Marketplace on Oakton (in Skokie) but not all the time. I will likely be there this weekend and I'll take a closer inspection.

j3s wrote:Does anyone know where to find pre-made (frozen) char siu bao (BBQ pork buns)?

j3s,

I suggest giving Dim Sum House in the 2600 block of S Wentworth a try.

I've bought from them a couple of times, including trays, they come in trays, of shrimp dumplings and pot stickers. Dim Sum House also has, BBQ pork buns, sui mie (beef and chicken) mochi rice wrapped w/leafs, turnover shrimp dumplings, 21 types total, all made in-house, on the paper menu.

The shrimp dumplings contain whole small shrimp, w/slivers of ginger, in an ever so slightly too thick wrapper, and the pot stickers were good as well, both were very fresh tasting.

I would hazard a guess that any number of Chinese restaurants in town serve Dim Sum House's product as their own. There is a small retail area, no eat-in, only frozen product to go.

If the rest of Dim Sum House's offerings are as tasty as the shrimp dumpling and pot stickers I will be back often.

Enjoy,
Gary

Dim Sum House
2610 S Wentworth Ave
Chicago, IL 60616
312-842-5400

For something similar but different check out Unimart, the Filipino grocery with a full bakery inside. They have an extensive selection of stuffed buns etc, all baked on the premises. Some things are quite similar to their Chinese counterparts (including BBQ pork buns I believe), others very different. It's a very interesting bakery to explore. You can get the baked goods fresh, often warm, or frozen. There's also a steam table (turo-turo) that may be the best introduction to Filipino cuisine around. Just point at whatever looks good (turo is Tagalog for "to point"). The grocery store itself is worth the trip. One of Chicago's great markets, to be sure.

Unimart One Stop Shop / Original Baker's Delight
5845 N Clark St
Chicago
773-561-8667

j3s,
I bought some frozen bao at Marketplace on Oakton in Skokie this morning. The brand is Oriental Kitchen and they call the product "siopao" (which may be an alternate spelling of "siu bao"). They came in chicken and pork and were $5.99 for a package of 6 good-sized bao (not exactly a bargain).

I haven't steamed one up yet, but it's my plan for Monday's breakfast.

I believe the Chinatown Market at Wentworth and Archer has them. Not sure of brands, or 100% sure they have bao, as I am not a great fan of them. But they do have a lot of types of frozen dumplings and I bet there is Bao in there.

I was at the Richwell market Saturday evening and they have whole freezer cases full of frozen dumplings and bao. I went for their baked cha sui bao, which are the best I've had since the Happy Garden bakery closed, but stayed to buy some BBQ pork and half a chicken, which they said was barbequed but on my receipt described as something else (pili? I can't of course now put my hands on the receipt, but it tasted more steamed than barbequed). Anyway, it was all delicious. The unexpected bonus was the dipping sauce that came with the chicken. It seemed to be oil, salt, scallions, and garlic and it really zipped up the chicken something special. Even though most of the signs are only in Chinese, there's enough English to get by and the staff are very helpful. And, of course, it has great parking right outside.

Richwell Market
1835 S. Canal
Chicago

I second Ann's recommendation of Richwell Market. Besides the counters selling food to go they have a good butcher counter and produce section. We always get packages of frozen dumplings, etc. there too. The parking lot is a nice convenience, and its location just south of 18th Street makes it easy to combine a stop there with another in Pilsen for Mexican groceries.

Another wonderful thing about Richwell is that they carry ingredients for other Asian cuisines, including Japanese.

I saw some at the Vietnamese market just north of Lawrence on Broadway (the one with Donk Ki restaurant next door). In their frozen food case along with dozens of varieties of frozen fish balls it appears that they also have various frozen buns, including some that were bar-be-que pork. (they also had frozen pre-cooked pork for buns). I didn't spend a lot of time looking at brands/varieties but certainly an option to check out.

Shannon

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions! Sounds like I have more exploring to do. I'll let you guys know if I find a favorite.

We bought some frozen bao as well as some interesting Western variations at Woodman's in Carpentersville.

Also, Wow Bao in Water Tower Place sells frozen bao.


Woodman's Food Market
2100 Randall Road, Carpentersville
(847) 426-6758

Wow Bao
Water Tower Place
835 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago
(312) 642-5888
http://www.wowbao.com

Try going here http://www.internationalclub.com/

They have a small selection of asian and international foods they sell in bulk. Their frozen selection of asian food and asian vegetables is pretty impressive.

G Wiv wrote:

j3s wrote:Does anyone know where to find pre-made (frozen) char siu bao (BBQ pork buns)?

j3s,

I suggest giving Dim Sum House in the 2600 block of S Wentworth a try.

I've bought from them a couple of times, including trays, they come in trays, of shrimp dumplings and pot stickers. Dim Sum House also has, BBQ pork buns, sui mie (beef and chicken) mochi rice wrapped w/leafs, turnover shrimp dumplings, 21 types total, all made in-house, on the paper menu.

The shrimp dumplings contain whole small shrimp, w/slivers of ginger, in an ever so slightly too thick wrapper, and the pot stickers were good as well, both were very fresh tasting.

I would hazard a guess that any number of Chinese restaurants in town serve Dim Sum House's product as their own. There is a small retail area, no eat-in, only frozen product to go.

If the rest of Dim Sum House's offerings are as tasty as the shrimp dumpling and pot stickers I will be back often.

Enjoy,
Gary

Dim Sum House
2610 S Wentworth Ave
Chicago, IL 60616
312-842-5400

I agree this is likely a wholesale source of handmade dumplings for dim sum restaurants. On my one visit, I found communicating a bit of a challenge. However the menu just begs for a return visit:



Regards,

I've been looking around, myself, and found them at H-Mart; oddly, they're with all the sweet bao which are in the center aisle freezer. I also found them at Great Mart, near the sweets as well.

Thanks for turning me on to these; they're delicious. I almost gave up on bao, as I'm not overly fond of the pork/bean thread/bitter greens variety that they have in the H-Mart food court. Sparky likes them, too!