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Taiwanese Gua Bao 割包

A recipe for delicious braised pork belly sandwiched in between a homemade fluffy steamed bun.

Prep Time
2 hrs
Cook Time
mins
Total Time
2 hrs 40 mins
Servings: 10
Calories: 488 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian , Chinese

Ingredients

Pork Belly Braise:
  • 2 lbs pork belly
  • 4 cloves garlic smashed
  • 1 inch ginger smashed
  • 2 green onions cut into 3" pieces
  • 2 Thai chilies optional
  • 3 star anise whole
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seed whole
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seed whole
  • 1 teaspoon white peppercorns whole
  • ½ teaspoon 5-spice powder
  • 4 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tablespoon rock sugar
  • 4 C beef broth or water
Garnish:
  • ½ cucumber sliced
  • ½ carrot julienned
  • a few sprigs cilantro chopped
  • 1 Thai chili chopped (optional)
  • 1 green onion chopped (optional)
  • hoisin suace
Bao Dough:
  • 2 ¼ C all-purpose flour
  • ¾ C warm milk
  • ½ tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 tablespoon oil for brushing tops of the buns

Instructions

Pork Belly Braise:
    Cup of Yum
  1. Rinse pork belly and pat dry. Turn on the Instant Pot to Saute and add 1 teaspoon oil. Place pork belly in to brown on all sides for about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Add the chilies, garlic, spices and ginger and saute until fragrant.  Add soy sauce, sugar, and 4 C of beef broth or water to cover. Cover with the lid and set the Instant Pot to Meat setting and cook for 40 minutes at high pressure.
  3. Once pork belly is cooked, remove from braising liquid and set aside. Save the braising liquid for noodle soup. Strain the braising liquid and remove the fat from the surface.
  4. Tip: an easy way to do this is to pour it into a bowl and set it in the freezer to chill. Once cold, the fat surfaces to the top and you can scrape it off quickly.
  5. Cut the pork belly into 1" slices and place into steamed buns (baos).
Dough:
  1. Cut out 10 square pieces parchment paper approximately 4" in diameter. Set aside.
  2. In a large stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook, combine yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Leave to proof.
  3. When the yeast has been activated (bubbly), add in flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and oil.
  4. Turn on the mixer and knead dough for 8-10 minutes on low speed, until the dough is nice and elastic. Add a little flour or water at a time depending if it's too sticky or too dry.
  5. Turn out dough onto an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to double in size (about 90 minutes).
  6. Once dough has risen, gently deflate and move it over to a board dusted with some flour.
  7. Taking the dough, roll into a log and cut into 10 pieces, each piece roughly 50g.
  8. Shape each piece into a ball and flatten out into an oval shape using a rolling pin.
  9. Brush the top of the dough with a little oil and fold in half.
  10. Lay the dough onto the prepared parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  11. Lightly cover and rest for about 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.
  12. Heat water in a large bamboo steamer over high heat. When buns are ready to be steamed, arrange the buns into the steamer and steam for 10-12 minutes, until puffy.
  13. Turn off the heat and wait for 5 minutes before carefully removing the buns from the steamer.
Assembly:
  1. Gently peel the warm buns open and assemble with the pork belly, toppings, hoisin sauce, and serve immediately.

Nutrition Information

Calories 488kcal (24%) Carbohydrates 23g (8%) Protein 12g (24%) Fat 36g (55%) Saturated Fat 18g (90%) Cholesterol 65mg (22%) Sodium 32mg (1%) Potassium 237mg (7%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 1g (2%) Vitamin A 545IU (11%) Vitamin C 2mg (2%) Calcium 15mg (2%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 10Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 488

% Daily Value*

Calories 488kcal 24%
Carbohydrates 23g 8%
Protein 12g 24%
Fat 36g 55%
Saturated Fat 18g 90%
Cholesterol 65mg 22%
Sodium 32mg 1%
Potassium 237mg 5%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 1g 2%
Vitamin A 545IU 11%
Vitamin C 2mg 2%
Calcium 15mg 2%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.