Wow! What a month...rather, what a last-several-months. I've been super busy in my kitchen, especially since January 1, prepping for many busy days ahead when my teens start back up with softball and soccer. I end the madness today after having finished making 70 pieces of siopao -- for a few weeks at least.
Siopao is a Filipino term for steamed bun -- very popular on Guam. The bun is usually filled with delicious pork, chicken, or beef. However, because siopao is ultra convenient, I change the fillings so my family doesn't get bored of it too fast.
Every January for the past few years I take one day to make 6 to 8 batches of the siopao recipe in my cookbook, A Taste of Guam. This year, because both of my kids are in a travel league, and because I wanted a variety, I'm setting a goal for two looooong days of siopao work. Today, I made scrambled-cheesy-eggs with bacon bits; Spam with cheese and half a hard-boiled egg; smoked pork; and a few testers with Nutella. It's nice to have these flavors once in a while.
Three out of the four of us prefer the teriyaki-like chicken, and chicken kelaguen siopao -- so this year I'm dedicating one day to make these two flavors -- 6 to 8 batches -- in a few weeks.
Just being able to thaw a variety of siopao then a quick zap in the microwave makes the 7 to 9 hours in the kitchen in one fell swoop worth it -- and that's only to make the dough, fill, steam, and wrap -- doesn't include the time it takes to make the filling. I often wonder if it's more work to make the fillings or to actually prepare the siopao. On the up side, we eat out less -- healthy for my bank account, for my heart, for my ass, for my waist.....hahaha!
When we have softball tournaments, we eat breakfast at home around 6 a.m, eat again around 10 a.m. after the first pool game, eat for the third time about 1 or 2ish following the last pool game or first bracket game -- then there is dinner still to go -- which could be as late as 9 p.m. after the last game. Crazy! It's as if every time the girls sit down it's a trigger for food. But that's the reality -- so warming up several siopaos and keeping them warm in a lunch bag with hot packs for our 10 a.m. meal is a life saver. Never mind on weekday nights when both kids have practice -- a big help!
If you like the idea of fast food in the freezer, think about turnovers too -- yum, yum!
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