The cookbook tour continues! As some of you may know, last week I held a cooking demo and signing at the fantastic BookCourt in Brooklyn and had a great showing and audience discussion. This week started off with an onsite interview with Cathy Erway on Heritage Radio Network, and ended with today’s wonderful class at ICE on takeout Chinese food. Up next: more classes in New York, The Roger Smith Cookbook Conference, and San Francisco in April!
But let’s take a step back for a moment and talk about pork belly. As some of you may know, The Chinese Takeout Cookbook
Many food fans know them from Momofuku Noodle Bar and its offspring restaurants. But as tasty as the Momofuku buns are, the Taiwanese have been snacking on these buns long before this dish hit the US eastern seaboard. Known as “gua bao” in Taiwan, these buns feature pork belly that has been braised in an aromatic mixture of soy sauce, rice wine, homemade stock, cinnamon, star anise, chilies, and Sichuan pepper.
(In Beijing I once ate at a restaurant that had this listed as “Taiwanese steamed hamburger” on the menu.)
These buns take a bit of time to make, but the melting texture of the pork will make it worthwhile. The toppings can definitely vary, but I like to top off the pork with hoisin sauce, crushed peanuts, and sometimes a bit of Sriracha. As for the buns, you can find them in the freezer section of a Chinese market; the packages will have instructions on steaming on the stove, and some packs will even instruct on steaming in a microwave.
I’m sharing this recipe here (it’s also available on Amazon) because it has something to do with an exciting announcement in the coming week related to the cookbook. And everyone in the blogging community. Stay tuned for more!
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Taiwanese-Style Pork Belly Buns
Serves 4 as an appetizer
- 1 pound pork belly, preferably boneless with skin on
- 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed
- One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 2 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 4 cups Chicken Stock (page 172)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 large piece cinnamon stick or cassia bark
- 2 pieces star anise
- 2 dried red chilies
- 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
- 1 package large steamed buns (6) or small steamed buns (12)
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce for serving
- ¼ cup crushed peanuts
- Fresh cilantro sprigs (optional)
- Cut the pork belly into large pieces (2 inches in length) that are still easy to pick up with tongs.
- Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over mediumhigh heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the peanut oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the pork and sear on all sides until lightly browned. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallions and cook briefly, for about 20 seconds, so that they become aromatic.
- Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, cinnamon, star anise, chilies, and Sichuan pepper. Bring the liquid to boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, until the pork belly is fork tender.
- When the pork is ready, use tongs to transfer it to a cutting board and cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return the pork to the braising liquid and cover to keep warm until the buns are ready.
- Steam the buns according to package instructions. You can assemble the buns by placing a slice of pork belly on the bottom, then top it off with a small spoonful of hoisin sauce, a dusting of crushed peanuts, and a bit of cilantro. Or for a more hands-on experience for your guests, bring the individual components to the table so that all can assemble their own buns.
My brother is obsessed with Momofuku Ssam Bar and Baohaus. I’m emailing him your link for sure.
Staying up way too late catching up on Google Reader and now I’m drooling over this picture! Wish I had these buns right now!
Sarah – Thanks! As much as I like having these as an appetizer when I go to places like Momofuku and Ippudo, there’s just something nice and satisfying when you make them at home too. :)
Ashley – Glad to be of service. ;) I’m no stranger for late-night food blog reading myself.
Diana: so glad to hear about all the exciting book touring experiences! Wish I lived in NY. I had these buns at Momofuku and even own the book. They are so incredibly delicious. I NEED to make them again from your recipe. You just made me crave them.
Holy Toledo these are making me hungry!
I just got back from dim sum and I loved the pork buns I had, but these look soooo much better. I have never added cinnamon to pork before but that is a genius idea.
Amelia – Thank you! The next time you’re in NY we definitely need to meet up again, maybe for pork buns or noodles again. :Hope you like the recipe!
Donald – Thanks!
Sydney – Cinnamon is one of my favorite ingredient for braises, whether it’s for pork, chicken, or Chinese tea eggs. :)
Oh man these are so good, totally gonna try make them myself. I just don’t know if I’ve seen those buns in stores near me, just the mantao-shaped ones :/
Iris – If you make the buns by hand let me know how it goes!
I’ ve had sandwich-y things very similar to this several places in China I visit, but with pork shoulder instead of belly. (Is the use of pork belly a Taiwanese characteristic?) Usually they are said to be Sichuan-style. In Beijing there is a restaurant very near the Institute of Geology where I am based while there that has Sichuan specials Wednesday lunch and we always go there for these sandwiches and noodles. In Xian they are common at lunch, and also with the late night sidewalk stands after 10-11 pm, with blue lights to distinguish them. (Though those stands are often run by folks from Xinjiang and so the meat is beef I think) Another thing I love there are the little bits of lamb dusted in chilli and cumin skewered on sharpened bicycle wheel spokes and cooked over narrow troughs of charcoal. This has caught on in Beijing, in the fast food noodle shops as well. There you can get lamb, pork or chicken done that way. Delicious with a bowl of noodles in soup.
Thanks as always for the wonderful recipes, Diana, I have used many over and over again.
These buns look amazing. I had something every similar in Beijing when I traveled there last year in the Chaoyang area. This post brings back some nice memories, so thank you for sharing.