Mama Yeow's sweet pork buns

Instructions

1. Combine the olive oil and onion in a medium non-stick frying pan over high heat and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the pork and stir-fry until cooked through. Stir in the light and dark caramel soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper and cook until sticky and caramelised. If there's a lot of excess oil, rest the frying pan, tilted, to see if you can get it to pool to one side where you can scoop or dab it away with paper towel. If the sauce needs thickening and you feel it might dry the meat to keep cooking, mix the cornflour and water, add it to the pan and cook over medium heat until it thickens and coats the pork well. Spread on a plate and cool completely before using.
2. To make the bun dough, stir the dry yeast and sugar with half the warm water in a bowl. Cover and rest for about 10 minutes or until the surface is foamy. Combine with the remaining warm water and dough ingredients in a stand mixer fixed with the dough hook attachment, and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes. Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise until it doubles in volume, about 40 minutes.
3. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 even balls (see note). Roll each ball with a rolling pin into a 5 mm thick circle. Place a tablespoon of the pork mixture in the middle of a dough circle. Gather the edge into the middle and pinch to seal, then place seam-side down on a 10 cm square of baking paper in a bamboo steaming basket (see note). Repeat with the remaining filling and dough. Put the lid on the steamer, then drape a damp tea towel over the lid and allow the filled buns to prove again until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.
4. Steam for 5–7 minutes on a rolling boil. They can be frozen for up to a month and refreshed with a 10-minute steam. Serve hot or at room temperature.