Hopiang Baboy or Chinese Pastry with Pork Flavoured Filling – is a widely available inexpensive treat or snack popular in the Philippines which is somewhat alike to moon cake. One of the famous brands of our local Hopia I know is “Tipas Hopia”.
Also known as Bakpia in Indonesia which means meat pastry. In Chinese it is called Hopia which means “good pastry”. This pastry is very popular in Indonesia and China. It was originally introduced by Fujianese immigrants in both nations around the 20th century and later on was also brought here in the Philippines by Chinese immigrants.
But why was it called Hopiang Baboy when the ingredients don’t even contain pork meat? The pork is just a mere flavor from pork oil or lard (lard is usually made from pork oil). Divide this recipe into half for smaller consumption.
Hopiang Baboy Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
For the Dough:
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
Roll-in fat layer (paste)
3 cup flour
1 cup lard or butter
1 cup sugar
For the Pork Filling:
200g pork skin
½ cup onion
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup white sugar
¼ cup pork oil (ot cooking oil)
½ cup evaporated milk
1 cup water
Garnish: beaten Egg yolk + sesame seeds
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a mixing bowl with strainer, add all purpose flour. Remove the strainer, make a well in the center and add the water, salt and corn oil.
Mix with a spatula to incorporate the ingredients well, but don’t overmix.
Knead to shape the dough into a ball, transfer into a greased bowl and cover with cloth. Set aside for about 30 minutes.
In another mixing bowl, mix all-purpose flour, sugar and lard until it becomes lumpy and turns into a paste. Keep mixing until it becomes smooth. Set aside.
Transfer the dough on a lightly floured flat table, roll it out with a rolling pin to form a rectangular 1-inch thick dough. Slice the edges to form rectangular shape.
Then, place the “roll in fat paste” on top of the rectangular dough and spread it out evenly to cover ⅔ of the dough. Leave one part “without paste” and two parts covered with paste. Use a spatula or spoon to even it out.
Fold the first part (without paste) over the center part and fold the other side (with paste) over the first part (so you get all three layers over each other with paste underneath.
Then roll out the dough back to its original rectangular size and repeat the folding (no need to add paste in between).
Repeat the process for the third time. Then, let it rest for 5 minutes.
Slice the dough lengthwise into two equal portions to become a log shape. Slice each log 6 even size, flatten each sliced piece with a rolling pin to form a round dough. Place a tablespoon of pork filling on the center, gather the edge to form it into a ball. Slightly flatten out the filled ball and fold it in half moon.
Transfer filled pieces on a greased baking sheet. Brush top with egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Prick the surface with a fork to let out steam. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. (Time may vary depending on the type of your oven so you need to watch out your pastry)
HOW TO MAKE HOPIA PORK FILLING:
Prepare the pork: (You may skip this part and just use pork oil). Boil pork skin until tender, Place in refrigerator overnight then cut into small pieces. Fry the skin until it renders its own oil and the skin is crispy, strain. Reserve the pork oil. (You may skip this part and just use pork oil)
In a pan, add pork oil and sauté onions and garlic until fragrant. Mix in sugar and add flour, mix it well. Add milk and water Mix well until fully combined and dry. Adjust sugar if necessary.
You may also add the minced crispy pork skin to the mixture and mix it well. Let it cool first and set aside until dough is ready to fill.
