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On a piece of paper that the teacher handed to me were the words "precocity" and "paleontology."

It was the late 1970s, and I was a grade-schooler who'd recently arrived from Vietnam. We'd taken a personality and aptitude test, and after I looked up the P words in the dictionary, I realized that yes, I am precocious, but examining fossils didn't interest me whatsoever.

My parents knew I was curious and intrepid from the times that I'd stuck my finger into electrical sockets (the buzzy shock was my "friend"); I'd also used my mom's sewing machine and got the needle stuck in my thumb (surgery was required). Those things all happened before I was 6 years old.

"You were born in the Year of the Monkey," my mom explained.

To channel my energetic, inquiring mind to good use, she gave me cooking assignments. Given our Asian diet, I mastered rice first. But soon, my mind wandered to foods that were exotic or uncommon to me but practically mundane to most North Americans.

Homemade bread wasn't the norm for our family - we bought lovely baguettes from a local Viet baker. I snooped around the grocery store and found frozen bread dough. I followed the label directions and it was a cinch to bake up three loaves of fluffy bread. More important, I quickly learned about the texture of yeast dough (soft but resilient), to patiently let dough rise, and how to gauge doneness. I built cooking confidence with minimal risk. I graduated to baking bread from scratch and later on, tackled tricky doughs for an Asian dumplings cookbook.

But in September 2018, when after Food & Wine magazine spotlighted a Breton butter cake recipe by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford that used frozen white bread dough as its base, I renewed my interest. Noodling around on the internet, I noted recipes for stuffed appetizers such as pepperoni bites and mini calzone. Since Chinese baked bao (stuffed bun) employ the same idea - a bold savoury filling baked inside yeast-leavened dough - I sensed success in the making.

Packages of Parker House roll dough turned out to be a super shortcut. The frozen pre-cut dough pieces were thrilling to play with: smack one into a round, then fill and shape it into a cutie snack.

Beginner's Baked Bao with Pulled Pork

Make ahead: The filling needs to be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes, and up to four days in advance. The filled bao need to rise for 50 to 60 minutes. Baked bao can be refrigerated for up to three days; reheat in a 350 F oven for eight to 10 minutes; reglaze with more honey water, if desired.

10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) store-bought pulled pork with sauce

1 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch

1 tbsp canola oil or another neutral oil

1/4 cup finely chopped shallot (about 1 medium or yellow onion)

One 24-ounce (24 piece) package frozen Parker House roll dough

Flour, for dusting, as needed

For the filling: As needed, coarsely chop the pulled pork, so the pieces will be small enough to use as bao filling.

Whisk together the sugar, potato starch or cornstarch, soy sauce and water in a medium bowl.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot or onion; cook for three to five minutes, stirring, until some of the pieces are golden. Add the pork; cook for one to two minutes to warm through, pressing on any larger pieces to break them apart.

Re-whisk the starch mixture, then pour into the pan; cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, until thickened. The mixture should form into a solid mass. Remove from the heat. Taste, and season with pepper, as needed, for a whisper of heat.

Spread the filling out on a plate; refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring midway, to cool completely.

For the bao: Defrost the dough according to package directions.

Meanwhile, for easy bun assembly, use two teaspoons to portion the pulled pork filling into 24 compact balls, each about 1 inch wide. Place them on a plate as you work. If not using within an hour, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

If there are lots of visible flour bits on the dough, knock them off with a pastry brush. To make things manageable, work with half the dough and filling at a time. Flouring the work surface isn't usually required for this dough.

Take a piece of dough and gently roll it into a ball. Put it on your work surface and smack it with the heel of your hand into a circle about 2� inches wide. Holding the dough round in one hand, centre a ball of filling on it, lightly pressing down to seat the filling in place. Imagine the dough round as a clock: pull 6 and 12 o'clock up and over the dough ball and pinch to seal over the centre. Repeat with 3 and 9 o'clock and seal. The result is a squarish bundle.

Using your fingertips, gently pinch the corners and sides toward the centre to seal and form a ball. Place on your work surface, pleat side down, then use your fingertips to rotate the ball and tuck any awkward bulges underneath, ensuring an even round shape. Place on one of the baking sheets, pleat side down, spacing the buns about 1� inches apart. Repeat to fill and shape the remaining dough pieces. (As you feel comfortable, smack and fill the dough pieces in batches; the dough shrinks a bit as it sits, but you can re-smack it before placing the filling. You may have a little of the filling left over; you can eat it as a cook's treat.)

Lightly grease a piece of plastic wrap with cooking oil spray (or brush with oil), then use it to loosely cover the buns. Let them rise in a warm place for 50 to 60 minutes, until each is roughly 2� inches wide.

About 15 minutes before the rising time is over, preheat the oven to 375 F. Whisk together the honey and water in a small bowl. Brush the buns with the honey-water mixture. Bake (middle rack) one sheet at a time, for 14 to 16 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

While the buns are still hot, brush them with more of the honey water (expect a little sizzling on the pan); this will glaze them. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Ingredients are too variable for a meaningful analysis. From cookbook author Andrea Nguyen.

Coconut Curry Chicken Bao Filling

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, plus more as needed

1/4 tsp fine sea salt, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp potato starch or cornstarch

1/4 cup full-fat unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 cup chopped shallot (about 1 medium) or yellow onion

One 2-inch piece peeled fresh ginger root, chopped (1 tbsp)

1 tbsp virgin coconut oil or another neutral oil

2 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems

Combine the chicken, sugar and salt in a bowl. Whisk together the potato starch or cornstarch and coconut milk in a liquid measuring cup.

Combine the shallot or onion, ginger, garlic, curry powder and water in a small food processor and process until a smooth paste forms.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the curry paste mixture and cook, stirring frequently, for three to four minutes, until darkened and richly fragrant. Add the chicken and gently cook, mashing and stirring into small pieces, for about three minutes, until just cooked through.

Re-whisk the coconut milk mixture, then pour into the pan; cook, stirring for about 30 seconds, until thickened. Let cool for two to five minutes, then stir in the cilantro. Taste, and season with more salt and/or sugar, as needed.

Spread the filling out on a plate; refrigerate, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring midway, to cool completely before using or storing.

Per serving: 35 calories; 2 grams fat (1 g saturated fat); 10 milligrams cholesterol; 35 mg sodium; 1 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein.

From cookbook author Andrea Nguyen.

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