A fair amount of work but worth it - and shortcuts for everything except making the dough!

Ingredients (Shortcut List Only)

note: see below for full ingredient list, including more homemade options

Filling

Dough

Cooking

Directions

Dough:

Yeast Activation: Place yeast, sugar and water (make sure it's not too hot) in a small bowl. Mix, ideally with non-metal utensils, then set aside for 10 minutes until it becomes foamy.
Place flour, cornflour and sugar in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook or mix by hand in a bowl. Mix briefly to combine.
Add yeast mixture, oil and water. Mix by hand or on low speed for 3 minutes until a smooth ball of dough forms. It should be soft and elastic, not so sticky it gets stuck all over your hands. Adjust with a touch of flour/water if required to get the dough consistency right.
Cover with cling wrap and place in a warm dry place for 2 hours until it doubles in volume. Meanwhile, make Filling.
Remove cling wrap, scatter over baking powder. Return to stand mixer and mix on low for 2 minutes.
Turn dough out onto work surface, sprinkle with flour. Knead lightly to form a smooth round disc.

Filling:

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes.
Add sauce and optional ingredients. Mix.
If using homemade sauce, while stirring, slowly pour cornflour mixture in. Mix until smooth.
Stir in pork. Cook until sauce is thickened, 1 - 1 1/2 minutes. Set aside in fridge to cool (thickens when cools).

Make Buns (Watch Video):

Cut dough into 4 pieces. Take one piece, roll into an even log, cut into 3 pieces (so 12 pieces in total).Take one piece of dough, cover remaining with cling wrap or tea towel.
Roll into round 4.5" / 11 cm in diameter, making the edges thinner and the center relatively thick, so it doesn't break when steaming
Place dough in hand, put 1 1/2 tbsp of Filling in the centre.
Pinch 8 pleats around the edges. Then gather the pleats together one by one to seal the bun. Pinch the top the twist. Alternatively, you can skip the pleats and just fold the dough over into a ball
Repeat with remaining dough - make 12 in total.
Optional: Cover buns loosely with cling wrap and leave in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Steam Buns:

Arrange 3-5 buns (depending on how big your steamer is) seam side up (or down), 1 inch apart, in each tier of a 2-tiered bamboo steamer - do not overcrowd as they will expand. Stack tiers; cover with lid.
If steaming on Instantpot : add 1-2 cups water (make sure doesnt make contact with the bottom of the steamer where the buns are) and press saute, wait until water boils. When boiling, add 8” steamer into pot or if larger then on top of pot. If steamer is in pot, cover losely with clean kitchen towel to catch condensation and put lid on top - it’s ok if it doesnt close. Steam for approx 12 min, topping off water as needed halfway, until buns are set.
If steaming on normal pot: add water to a large skillet to a depth of 1 inch; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Place steamer in pan; steam 15 minutes or until puffed and set.
Let cool for 10 minutes before serving

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Pork: 1 pound premade char siu pork OR 1 pound pork scotch fillet (collar neck, pork neck) or pork shoulder

Prepare Pork:

Option 1: Shortcut:

Option 2: Quick, Homemade:

rub five-spice powder evenly over pork. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 18 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°, turning pork occasionally. Remove pork from pan, and let stand 15 minutes.

Option 3: Long, Homemade:

Filling sauce:

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

Option 1: Shortcut

Option 2: Homemade

Dough: