Homemade Pork Belly Buns

Homemade Pork Belly Buns

Taiwanese pork belly buns (刮包), simply put, are amazing. Braised pork belly sandwiched between fluffy white buns (also known as mantou or 饅頭) sprinkled with pickled mustard greens, crushed peanut powder, and cilantro...it's really now wonder why interpretations of these buns have been popping up everywhere (think Momofuku, Baohaus, etc.).

Inspired by this recipe request for pork belly buns (recipe wanted: pork belly buns aka taiwanese hamburger), I set out to create my own homemade pork belly buns! Once I had the buns ready (steamed buns part II), the world - or more like these buns - was my oyster. All that was left was to braise my pork belly and prepare the toppings!

For the traditional pork belly bun, I had a few key components I needed to gather before I could assemble the buns and chow down.

First: the braised pork belly. Though I see that Momofuku appears to braise their pork belly in nothing more than salt, water, and chicken broth, I preferred following the traditional Taiwanese style of braising fatty meats.

Next up: pickled mustard greens. Packages of pickled mustard greens can usually be bought in the refrigerated section in Asian supermarkets, though selection may vary.

And then the final 2 (easier) components: crushed peanut powder and cilantro. The peanut powder (which is slightly sweetened) can be found in Chinese supermarkets, most likely in the flour section.

As soon as those 4 ingredients are ready, you're merely seconds away from eating! Assemble by layering slices of pork belly with spoonfuls of the pickled mustard greens, a dash of the crushed peanuts and some cilantro in between a steamed bun. Adjust each component to your personal taste. If you want to, spread a thin layer of hoisin sauce (not too much, or else the flavor will be too strong). Now eat!

Taiwanese-style braised pork belly

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork belly
• ~1/2 cup soy sauce
• ~1/4 cup mirin rice wine
• ~1/4 cup brown sugar
• dash of five spice powder
• hard-boiled eggs (optional)
• water

Prepare the pork belly depending on how you want it to cook (i.e. the whole pork belly chunk together versus 2 inch slices ready to insert into pork buns).

Heat the pot that will be used to braise the pork belly. Stir-fry the pork belly in the pot for a few minutes to brown. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, five spice powder, sugar, and water, adjusting to taste. Make sure the liquid mixture fully covers the meat - keep adding liquid until the meat is covered. If you are braising eggs as well, throw in the peeled hard-boiled eggs to stew with the meat.

Let cook at medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Lower heat and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes (though longer is okay too). Remove from heat and serve.

Stir-fried pickled mustard greens

Ingredients

• 1 package of pickled mustard greens
• ~3 tbsp sugar
• oil

Drain the mustard greens and soak in water for at least 30 minutes. Remove from water and dice the mustard greens.

Heat the pan with oil and stir-fry the diced mustard greens on high heat. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time to adjust the mixture to taste. Remove from heat and serve.

Steamed Buns

Steamed Buns Attempt #2 - (Partial) SUCCESS!

So after the horrendous results of my last batch of dough (steamed buns part I), I obviously felt the need to try again. And try again I did!

This time, I learned to cut back on experimentation levels and stick to good old self-rising cake flour (and all-purpose flour for my 3rd batch, just to see what would happen). I would have liked to try another batch with regular cake flour (without baking powder and salt added), but...I can't seem to find it. Next time!

So this time around, I knew the end result would be infinitely better because instead of watching crumbles of dough mixture flop around in the mixer, this time I was able to witness a beautiful and seamless integration of liquid and flour mixture! Exciting stuff!!

Unfortunately, I may have skipped a few steps in the process of making the buns and didn't really bother with rolling out the dough and slicing it - I just formed tiny balls of dough in my hand and flattened it out. I also didn't give the dough much time to rise my second time around, but I did for the third batch and what a difference it makes! I assume this is why my buns weren't as thin as I ideally would've liked them to be or as pretty, but I'll just have to find out next time!

In the end, the buns were satisfying in taste, texture, and functionality (they made great pork belly buns - post to follow!). Now if only they were thinner and more pretty....!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (slightly cooled past boiling)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil
• 3 tbsp dried milk powder
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• parchment paper

Dissolve sugar and salt in 1 cup of the warm water. Stir in yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes to activate - yeast mixture should look foamy. Add milk powder and rest of the warm water. Stir in oil.

Pour flour in a large mixing bowl. Slowly begin to stir in the liquid yeast mixture to evenly distribute the liquid in the flour. Knead the dough for about 15 minutes. The dough should not stick to your hands and should have a taffy-like appearance when stretched. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover in plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours - the dough should grow 2.5-3 times in size.

Punch down the dough (literally punch down into the dough, will slightly deflate the dough). Roll out the dough into a log and slice into 1 inch slices (will probably form around 20). Take each slice and roll out into oval shapes. Lightly spread oil on one side of the oval and using a chopstick, fold the oval dough in half. Place the bun on top of a square of wax paper. Continue until all buns are finished. Let buns sit and rise for another 30 minutes.

Arrange the buns in a steamer, leaving about 2 inches of space between each one. Cover and steam over boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove from steamer after fully cooked and wrap in a moist towel if not being eaten immediately.

Serve with pork belly or anything else you can think of (recipes to be posted soon!)

Grilled Cheese Revival!

For reasons I cannot quite explain, I am the author of many (incomplete) food blogs floating around on the internet. Perhaps I cannot quite commit to just one blog name, perhaps I lack focus...who knows. But for now, I have decided I like this blog. And I feel that this blog could benefit from a few of my previous posts...which I will now re-share with you here!

And in case I ever revive the other blog, the link to the original post can be found here: http://alittletasteof.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/grilled-cheese-revival/

Happy eating!

Truffle Grilled Cheese with Mushrooms and Tomato Jam

When you think of a grilled cheese sandwich, what comes to mind? Childhood days in your elementary school cafeteria, munching on slices of toasted white bread with melted American cheese, coming home on wintry afternoons after endless exhausting snowball battles to your grilled cheese sandwich and bowl of tomato soup, your go-to food in college when you were starving and had no idea what else to cook. But now, possibly thanks to the effects of Gossip Girl and the notorious truffle grilled cheese sandwich incident at the Plaza Hotel, grilled cheese is experiencing its second wind, taking this basic sandwich and dressing it up with as many different flavor combinations as possible. Back in the day, if someone had asked me if I would like to try a $50 truffle grilled cheese sandwich, I would have said they were crazy and shooed them away. Now? Sign me up!

Inspired by the flavor combination presented in this recent grilled cheese recipe request (recipe request: grilled cheese with tomato jam), I was determined to set out and create an epic grilled cheese sandwich. And of course, it absolutely had to include truffles.

The sandwich on its own is already a rich and comforting delight, with the flavors of the strong pecorino cheese balancing against the light provolone cheese and earthy slices of cremini mushrooms scattered throughout, all enveloped between two slices of warm, buttery, toasted bread - with just a slight hint of truffle oil (note: truffles are really too expensive for me to experiment with!) to really push the sandwich over the edge. When topped with the light tomato salsa, the warm hearty flavors of the sandwich are beautifully cut by the cool refreshing taste and texture of the tomatoes, creating a completely different grilled cheese experience. A mixture of hot and cold, of sweet and salty, of gooey and crunchy - it's the perfect grilled cheese experience!

Tomato Salsa/Jam

• 1 tomato
• 1 tsp diced red onion
• 1/4 tsp diced basil
• lemon juice
• salt
• sugar
• balsamic vinegar

Finely dice the tomato and mix with onion and basil. Squeeze a sprinkle of lemon juice over the mixture. Add a pinch of salt and slightly more than a pinch of sugar. Pour in 1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar. Mix well.


Grilled cheese with mushrooms, provolone, and pecorino cheese

• 2 slices of white sandwich bread
• 2 Cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 slices Provolone cheese
• 1-2 tbsp grated Pecorino cheese
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• pinch of sea salt
• dash of Truffle oil

Heat olive oil in a pan and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with a sprinkle of sea salt. Remove from heat.

Melt the butter in a pan on medium-low heat. Pour in the truffle oil (amount at your discretion). Place the 2 slices of bread in the pan. Place the Provolone slices on top of one slice and sprinkle the Pecorino cheese on top of the Provolone. Scatter the mushroom slices on top of the cheese. Take the other slice of bread and place the untouched side face down on top of the cheese and mushrooms. Flip every 20 seconds or so, taking care to monitor the bread so it does not burn. Remove from heat when cheese is melted, approximately 2 minutes.

NYC Wine & Food Festival 2011: Burger Bash

When I woke up this morning, I was filled with a sense of dread. Why, you ask? Because tonight, I attended both the Blue Moon Burger Bash, as well as Fried (at Hill Country)...back to back...and if I had remembered anything from yesterday's Meatball Madness, I knew I would be beyond full...from one event alone.

Walking into Burger Bash (early access again - yay, thanks Gilt City!), we were greeted with the aromas of burgers on hot grills, a gentle breeze wafting over from the river, as well as a promising line-up of what would surely be amazing burgers. In order to fully prepare for this event, I had avoided eating burgers for over 2 weeks (a major feat for me), so by now I was ready to dive in!

Burger Bash had slightly fewer participating restaurants than Meatball Madness, but given that we would be served burgers - complete with requisite bun, a.k.a. instant stomach filler - I knew I would have to eat swiftly (so that I would not realize I was full) and wisely (because again, I had another event to attend afterward). First stop: Quality Meats!

The F*ck Fancy Cheese Burger from Quality Meats

Quality Meats served a solid burger, with a satisfying patty and delicious broccoli and cheese bites on the side. I also liked that it was served on something more interesting than a potato bun - bonus points in my book (I really don't like potato buns). To market themselves, Quality Meats handed out pins (both normal and profane) and if you voted for them, you received a t-shirt. Hooray for these extra little special touches!

Knowing that the crowd around Marc Forgione would be enormous, I deftly meandered over to his booth where, thankfully, a line had not yet formed and I was easily able to say hello, grab my burger, and eat in peace. His Hangover Burger was quite intricate and satisfying, even going so far as to include a poached egg, but unfortunately for me, I am absolutely incapable of eating spicy food and had to immediately search for the nearest bottle of water. If I continue attending these food events, I really need to work on my spicy foods tolerance...

The Hangover Burger from Restaurant Marc Forgione

I have no idea what or where Custom Burgers is from, but all I know is that their Americana burger - though exceedingly simple - hit the spot. Plus it helps that a handful of fried pickles were served alongside the burger, allowing me to finally satisfy my curiosity towards this mysterious food (Snooki makes them sound as if they are life-changing) without actually having to buy a portion (especially given that...I'm not a big fan of pickles).

Americana Burger from Custom Burgers

DBGB Kitchen and Bar served a spectacular "Piggie," with the sweetness of the BBQ pulled pork contrasting beautifully against the juicy, salty burger. The surprising part about me liking the burger was that I actually am not traditionally a fan of BBQ pulled pork and usually find the flavors to be overwhelming, but in this burger, all I can say is that DBGB found a way to really make it work.

The Piggie from DBGB Kitchen and Bar

Dropping by Abe & Arthur's, I saw the chefs preparing normal-sized burgers and I have to say, I really panicked. But fortunately, we were served their "Wisconsin" Cheese Burger in the form of sliders and I fairly enjoyed this burger (makes sense, they were chosen by the judges as this evening's winner). But in all honesty, I was more engrossed by the delicious truffle fries served alongside our burger. To me, a good fry will always beat out a good burger.

The "Wisconsin" Cheese Burger from Abe & Arthur's

The people's choice winner went to the B&B Bison Burger from Burger & Barrel. I do remember being served a good burger from them, but...it didn't really stick in my mind. But after eating 20 burgers (and 1 hot dog!), it really becomes quite hard to distinguish the burgers from one another.

Unfortunately, I did encounter a number of let-downs this evening. Biggest one: Bobby's Burger Palace. The burger was dressed well and I loved the addition of potato chips to add a sparkle of texture and liveliness to the burger, but boy was the meat salty.

Carolina Burger Crunchified from Bobby's Burger Palace

 After sampling all the burgers (minus the Shack Burger from Shake Shack because, well, I live and work right outside a Shake Shack), I headed over to the main tent to explore the dessert array. The middle of the room housed a giant spread of pies and milkshakes, but I chose to forego the pies (though I definitely tried the milkshakes). I actually quite liked the milkshakes (provided by Duff Goldman's Shakes) and found the mint julep milkshake to be very satisfying, despite assuming that the addition of alcohol would surely overwhelm any other flavors present.

All in all, this was a very satisfying event and I'm glad I was able to try so many different burgers from around the city. But if I ever attend this event in the future, I will be sure to prepare a consolidated list of max 10 burgers to sample...and force myself to stick with it.

NYC Wine & Food Festival 2011: Meatball Madness

Earlier this evening, I ventured down to 82 Mercer for Meatball Madness hosted by Giada De Laurentiis. Now while heading over, I found myself wondering why I was even going because, well, I don't really like meatballs (or tomato sauce. or spaghetti. or even pizza.). But oh well, I already bought the ticket, so off I went!

Because I purchased my deal through Gilt City, I was granted early access (30 mins early) and was swiftly whisked into the room. Upon entering, obviously the room was still rather empty and most of the restaurants looked like they were still setting up and trying to find their groove, so I hesitated before diving in. But as soon as I saw someone eating a meatball, I knew it was time...

An inside glimpse of the venue prior to the official start

Diet Pepsi Skinny Bar

My first stop was Osteria Morini for their Prosciutto and Mortadella Meatballs topped with Swiss Chard and Parmigiano Creme. And boy, was it good. I started to get excited...maybe an evening of meatballs wouldn't be so bad!

Prosciutto and Mortadella Meatballs with Swiss Chard and Parmigiano Crema

But by my second meatball, I started to realize what a big problem eating my way through meatballs over 35 different restaurants would be, particularly given that for a normal meal, I can probably eat 6 meatballs. Max. And many of these meatballs seemed to be served alongside carbs, which, if I learned anything from doing the South Beach and Atkins diets, fill you up. So after my fifth meatball or so, I found myself avoiding any meatballs served with bread - and this turned out to be a big mistake. But more to come on that.

The Meatball Shop served Steak n' Bacon Cheddar Balls on a Buttermilk Biscuit with Mushroom Gravy. In retrospect, this sounds quite delicious. But at the time, I don't recall it being very special; perhaps my expectations were too high...

Steak n' Bacon Cheddar Balls on a Buttermilk Biscuit with Mushroom Gravy

After 30 mins, the event officially began and the crowds started to trickle in, forming long lines at certain stations. Word of advice: if you can buy a ticket that grants you early access, DO IT - not having lines will really give you a great opportunity to try whatever you want to try and as a bonus, if you want to chat with a chef, no one's there to disrupt you!

When I found Ed's Lobster Bar, I half expected them to be serving a lobster roll...just because. But staying true to the theme, we were served delicious lobster meatballs. Honestly, you just can't go wrong with lobster!

Dirt Candy

One of my most pleasant surprises of the evening was the AllBalls with Labneh, Preserved Lemon and Kale from Dirt Candy. I am clearly not a vegetarian and when growing up, if I ever ate a dinner without meat, I usually felt like I was on the verge of passing out. But this dish was pleasantly delicious, providing a nice contrast from all of the typical meatballs laden with marinara (or some form of tomato) sauce.

AllBalls with Labneh, Preserved Lemon and Kale from Dirt Candy

Another pleasant surprise was found on a trip to the ilili table. We were served Smoked Veal & Beef Meatballs (coated with some sort of fig? date? sauce). The sweetness of the sauce really blended beautifully with the meatballs, providing pleasant and delicious relief from, again, all of the tomato-based sauces I had been consuming. Later, I went back for their Chocolate Puddin' Balls and I have to say, these were quite good as well!

Smoked Veal & Beef Meatballs from ilili

As with any large tasting event like this one, there were some major letdowns. Le Cirque served a Tuscan Meatball with Red Onion Mostarda on top of polenta and...well, it was really salty.

Tuscan Meatball with Red Onion Mostarda from Le Cirque

Another big letdown? Donatella. Perhaps it was meant to be very basic and a true classic, but frankly, I just wasn't impressed. But honestly, it could have been that I was extremely full because by that point in the evening, I felt like I was pregnant - my stomach was extremely tight, my back hurt, and my feet ached. Thank goodness for all the water from San Pellegrino!

Donatella Arpaia from Donatella

Visiting Giada's booth, we were greeted with an interesting Smoked Mozzarella and Fig Meatball, which was in fact, not a meatball at all. Upon first bite, I was a little confused because I half-expected for some meat to be living in the middle of the cheese, but nope - just sweet cheese. I should probably also mention right now that...I don't really like cheese. It weirds me out. So naturally, I was not a huge lover of this "meatball," though after a few bites, I found that it was starting to grow on me...

A Voce served an interesting Chocolate Cannoli with Roasted Cherries. The filling was actually quite nice, but the Cannoli shell kind of confused me. It had the texture of...well sheets of melted sugar, but was not as sweet as sugar. Oh well, it was still relatively pleasant!

Chocolate Cannoli with Roasted Cherries from A Voce

At this point I gave up on eating. And resorted to walking around, searching for new drinks (and any meatballs that I hadn't eaten and just HAD to try).

Grandaisy Bakery

Around 9 PM, finally the judges had finished deliberating and had settled on a winner. Judges Choice: Gravy Meatball Slider from the little owl. Shame on me for not eating this, just because it was served on bread! It sounds delicious! But runner-up? Meatballs with Pinenuts, Currants and Basil served with Spicy Burnt Garlic Broccoli Rabe from Pulino. I am happy to say that I actually did eat Pulino's dish and it really was quite good.

Judges hard at work

The popular vote went to The Meatball Shop. I clearly just don't understand meatballs...

And that ended my intense evening of meatballs. Honestly, I don't think this event was really meant for me, as I clearly have poor appreciation for and understanding of meatballs. But it really was great to see and try such a large variety of meatballs from around the city and catch a brief glimpse of many, many "food celebs" throughout the night. But my biggest worry? Tomorrow evening, not only am I attending Burger Bash, but I will be following that up with Fried (the fried chicken event hosted by Gilt City)...immediately after. On the bright side, I am a huge lover of burgers and fried chicken and I would actually go to the restaurants participating in these events to eat their burgers and fried chicken! But at the same time...how am I possibly going to be able to enjoy all this food???

McDonald's Monopoly

Okay, I discovered something (amazing) that will surely throw off my food posts for the next month or so...

McDonald's Monopoly is back!

As much as you may dislike McDonald's, you can't really hate on Monopoly. Well you can, but c'mon - it's just an innocent board game!

Anyways, I am a huge fanatic of McDonald's Monopoly. Even though I've never won a big prize, I am just obsessed with the idea that each year, I will win. So in order to make that happen, I fulfill my annual (or more like 3 years worth) quota of McDonald's trips while the Monopoly promotion runs.

Last year, I won a few medium fries, a breakfast sandwich, and a $5 gift card to Wal-mart. This year? I will win a million dollars!

So this morning I ventured in for a medium iced mocha (too creamy for me - will never order that again), sausage egg mcmuffin (that is one heavy breakfast), and an order of hash browns. And in that one meal, I already managed to get multiple duplicate pieces.

...and obviously I couldn't resist and found myself back again for lunch. My medium soda, filet o' fish (which conveniently fell on the floor back in the office) and large fries got me...a winning piece: medium fries! But I also got more duplicates of the pieces from this morning.

The best thing about this new age of technology that we live in is that each Monopoly piece has a code that can be entered online and used to play this chance card hat toss game. Which I obviously didn't win. And I reached the daily 10 code quota. But tomorrow is another day...and I still have 3 codes to enter online!

Hello again!

...and I am back!

Not much happened for me in the way of food events this summer...everything seemed to be in the Hamptons and I, well, was not. However, I did try the master cleanse (for 1.5 weeks) and a 3-day Cooler Cleanse earlier this summer - along with a number of equally useless diets - to try and erase the effects of attending all these food events, but naturally they did not work. But I guess you could say my summer was still spent exploring food (or lack thereof), so I in fact did not take a break from my food ventures! I'm not sure that I want to post about these cleanses because, well, they were kind of boring, but below I have listed out some recap highlights:

• The master cleanse is pretty unappetizing, especially if you don't like cayenne pepper. And the grade B maple syrup does not make it sweet.
• I did not follow the exact amounts of the recipe because I figured it would drive me insane, but I decided either way you'll get similar effects (after all, you ARE only drinking liquids...I'm sure a little more or less maple syrup won't really make or break you).
• Cayenne pepper really does squash those waves of hunger pains, if only for a few minutes...
• It is really hard to do the master cleanse while you're at work and surrounded by people eating delicious things, especially if these people eat all. day. long.
• I cheated and ate some watermelon each day. Whatever, close enough.
• I did not do the salt water flush because way too many people have posted unpleasant things about it.
• At the end of it, I did not feel all that clean. Lighter - sure. But detoxed? I don't know about that...
• After 1.5 weeks of the master cleanse, you find that a 3 day cleanse like Cooler Cleanse is a breeze and in fact, quite indulgent. In fact, I'm pretty sure I gained weight from that...
• I drank about half of the juices on Cooler Cleanse because, well, I was so incredibly full. That and green juices still gross me out (even though theirs was a LOT better than ones I've had in the past).
• The Cooler Cleanse coconut water tastes a lot like water that you've boiled corn in + cane sugar. But I also don't like coconut water.
• The grapefruit and mint juice tasted...very herby. Not at all a gentle dose of mint.
• The lemon cayenne juice scared me (see above)...I think I drank a sip.
• The beet juice was absolutely delicious. SO incredibly sweet. What a treat! Too bad by the time it was beet juice time, I was exhausted and did not want to drink juice.
• I thought the almond nut milk would be my special treat for the day; so many people had described it as being this rich, indulgent, almost ice cream-esque drink. But guess what, I drank a sip and knew I could never touch it again. It was indeed rich. It was so incredibly rich. And sweet. And it makes up for half of the total daily calories of the cleanse. Not to mention, it looks extremely gross when it separates.

 In summary, I don't think I will ever try any of these cleanses again. Not that the Cooler Cleanse wasn't good. It was pretty good - much better than the Joulebody cleanse that I had previously done. The juices were refreshing, they (mostly) looked appetizing, and they came in these cute bottles with beautifully refreshing pictures splashed across the label that just inspired you to want to feel clean. But given that I apparently don't even drink half of the juices included in the $58 per day cleanse, it was extremely not worth it financially.

The Master Cleanse, on the other hand, was very economical. It was also extremely hard to maintain. If I were at home for 2 weeks and did not have to go out and eat with friends or be in public or be anywhere near food, I would totally consider (maybe) doing it again...for like a week. But seriously, if you don't have great self control, DO NOT do this cleanse when you're at work and/or around friends who are eating...it's torture.

And now for more upbeat and appetizing news, I will be attending various NYC Wine & Food Festival Events this weekend, so stay tuned!