Cha Shao Shu

I’m too intimidated to make my own pastry dough so I always take a shortcut and use store-bought puff pastry. I had a pastry sheet left over from Valentine’s day and some extra cha shao filling from making cha shao bao so I made some quick cha shao pastries, one of my favorite dim sum items. The Chinese use lard in their pastries so the buttery taste of puff pastry is not typical to Chinese baked goods (but I don't have hours to devote to making authentic pastry, maybe some other day).

When I told Steven I planned on making these, he was pretty apathetic, saying he didn't care too much for them. Well it was a different story when they came out of the oven. Since he ended up liking them so much, I lamented I didn't make more but I guess it's a good thing I only made 6 since eating so much puff pastry can't be too healthy.

I halved my original recipe for the filling so this adjusted recipe will be enough for 9 pastries. You can eat any leftover filling with some rice. The filling is pretty darn good, I ate a little bit while it was cooling.

Cha Shao Filling
1 C chopped cha shao
2 green onions, bottom half only, sliced thinly
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tsp Shao Hsing rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp white pepper
2 Tbsp to 1/4 C water, depending on how saucy you want the filling
1 tsp corn starch
Vegetable oil

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper.

In a separate bowl, mix the water and cornstarch.

Heat a scant teaspoon of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat and stir fry the green onion (white part only) for about 30 seconds to a minute, or until fragrant. Then add the cha shao and the sauce and cook for a minute, until the mixture is bubbly. Then add the cornstarch water and stir together. Cook until the mixture bubbles again and thickens, about a minute.

Cool to room temp before using.

Cha Shao Shu
1 sheet of store bought puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp white sesame seeds
Cha shao filling

Defrost the puff pastry sheet according to package instructions.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

The puff pastry sheet is folded in thirds, so cut along the folds for 3 equal pieces of puff pastry. Then cut each third into 3 pieces, for a total of 9 squares of puff pastry.

Roll out each puff pastry square into a rectangle about 3 by 4 in. You don't need to roll it very much, the squares are about 3 x 3 in to begin with.

With the short side facing towards you, scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling onto the puff pastry. Fold the pastry over the filling and seal the 3 edges.


Brush the pastries with some beaten egg and sprinkle a pinch of white sesame seeds on top.

Bake at 375ºF for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the pastries are fully risen and golden brown. Serve hot.

Makes 9 pastries

Seattle Cheese Festival

On Saturday Steven and I revisited Pike Place Market with camera, water bottle, and crackers in tow for the third annual Seattle Cheese Festival. The festival showcases over 200 varieties of international and domestic artisanal cheeses. In addition there are wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, seminars, and scavenger hunts for the kids. Best of all, cheese sampling and most of the activities (with the exception of the seminars) are free! I was afraid it would rain since the weather report predicted AM showers, but it turned out to be a beautiful day so I couldn’t have been happier.

I never found out what this big cheese was.

We wanted to get there before 10 to see the cheese race where local restaurant owners roll cheese down the cobblestone streets of the market but we ran a little late and just missed it. Maybe next year.

The tables were lined with cheese after cheese; it was a plethora of cheese as far as the eye could see. There were imported cheeses from all over Europe including France, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and domestic ones from Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, and Montana. There were cheeses made from cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, and goat’s milk and cheese of all shapes, sizes, colors, smells, and textures, from nutty hard cheeses, smooth soft cheeses, to stinky runny cheese.

Do you dare try the Stilton?

How about the intimidating Roquefort?

Off the top of my head, I recall we tried about 2 or 3 Stiltons, some Roquefort after rallying up our courage, 4 delicious Goudas, an amazing smoked Cheddar, cave-aged Cheddar with lots of crystals, an odd Fontina that left a bitter aftertaste, Comte, Asiago, 3 or 4 goat cheeses, delicious Irish cheese that reminded us of Parmesan, Camembert, and dozens more that I can’t remember. I discovered I’m not the biggest fan of goat cheese. We loved one of the Goudas so we purchased some along with some blue cheese.

Eventually, the little cubes of cheese add up! After sampling over 40 varieties of cheese, Steven and I were full of cheese, crackers, and delicious local bread. I don’t know how we would manage to sample all 200 plus varieties.

More photos from the festival.

The festival is over for this year but I think it will be back next year. It's a lot of cheese and a lot of fun! Cheese sampling goes from 10 am to 5pm but it's best to get there early because the lines get longer and longer. There are sometimes crackers and breads available with the cheese but it's a good idea to bring some crackers with you so you can clear your palate occasionally (you never know when you'll taste a really strong cheese). Also bring a water bottle because you might get thirsty.


As we were leaving, we met an adorable African Gray Parrot, Phineas, and his trainer. Phineas was so sweet and intelligent (about the intelligence of a 7 year old his trainer says). If you point your finger at him and say "Bang!" he swings back and dangles from the trainer's finger. Phineas also did a handstand and back sommersault for us and calmly rested on my palm while I petted his head.






And a trip to Pike Place wouldn't be complete without getting some more Daily Dozen Doughnuts. See more photos here (no smell-o-vision I'm afraid).