Greek-Inspired Pork Belly Bun

Greek-Inspired Pork Belly Bun

After the mouthwatering success of the Korean-inspired pork belly bun (Korean-inspired pork belly bun), I decided to try and find yet another way to take the basic pork belly bun and twist it to incorporate the flavors of another country. And after revising the mouthwatering memories of the Gyro recipe request (recipe wanted: greek chicken gyro), I decided to give it a go!

To me, there are a number of things that make a gyro/souvlaki sandwich delicious:

• Moist, tender meat
• Refreshing tzatziki sauce
• French fries

There have been too many instances to count where one of the above went missing...and made for a sad gyro/souvlaki sandwich. Especially the french fries. Though it really doesn't seem necessary, the inclusion of those few hearty french fries gives the sandwich another layer of texture and dimension. Can't do without it. Also can't skip the red onion, though I suppose if you really don't like onions, you can leave it out...

So now that I had the meat (went with the korean-inspired braised pork belly) and the buns ready, all I needed to do was create the sauce and obtain some french fries. For french fries, I went with any old frozen shoestring fries that I found in the frozen foods section, but freshly fried, heartier fries are ideal.

For tzatziki sauce, I used a combination of recipes found online (the end result probably could have been better, but the other elements of the bun were so good that it was hard to notice any flaws in the sauce). Once the sauce was ready, I spread a (generous) layer on one face of the bun, added a few slices of pork belly, followed by sliced tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, and a few french fries. The result?

Delicious.

Tzatziki sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup traditional Greek yogurt, plain
• 1-2 minced garlic cloves (depending on taste preference)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated cucumber
• salt and pepper, to teast

Scoop the yogurt onto a cheesecloth and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Grate the cucumbers and drain the liquid. Mix the dry grated cucumber into the yogurt. Stir in the garlic cloves and the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and serve.

NOTE: My batch of tzatziki sauce was rather sour (I didn't actually measure out the lemon and just took 1/4 of a lemon and squeezed the juice in) so be wary of how much lemon juice you actually add in and adjust accordingly.

Korean-Style Pork Belly Buns

Korean-Inspired Pork Belly Buns

Reflecting on the ever-growing popularity of Korean tacos (recipe wanted: korean tacos) and my own personal fascination with Korean food, I began to think of other ways to integrate Korean tastes into my cooking and realized the most obvious answer (which was also, literally, in front of me at the time) was to create a Korean-inspired pork belly bun! The original plan was just to add a slice of kimchi into the bun, but given how delicious Korean barbecue marinades are, I decided to braise a new batch of pork belly, but this time, with Korean flavors! I incorporated the juice/marinade from the kimchi, hot sauce, sesame sauce, garlic, soy sauce, mirin rice cooking wine, and a little bit of sugar and tossed this mixture with the pork belly into the oven.

After the pork belly was done, I once again set out to assemble the bun. I started with a few slices of kimchi, added a few slices of the pork belly, followed by arugula (the only lettuce I had at the time) and topped with slivers of scallion.

The result? Delicious. The spicy and sweet flavors of the pork belly playing against the kimchi were beautifully absorbed by the soft texture of the delicate bun. Though to some people, the bun may appear to detract from the full taste and experience of the meat and kimchi, to me this combination was delectable, as the combination resulted in a flavor profile that was not overly powerful in any particular taste (unlike how sometimes the spicy flavor of meats or kimchi can overpower everything else).

Korean-inspired braised pork belly

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork belly
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup mirin rice wine
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 kimchi marinade
• 1/4 cup hot sauce (or as much as you would like)
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 4 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare pork belly (either leave as long strips or cut into 2 inch wide slices, depending on how you want to serve). Heat pan and quickly sear the sides of the pork belly. Remove from heat and place pork belly in a roasting pan.

Combine the sesame oil, rice wine, soy sauce, kimchi marinade, hot sauce, garlic, and sugar in a bowl, adjusting each component to your personal preference. Pour into roasting pan and coat the pork belly. Place into the oven.

Cook at 375 degrees for 1 hour (turning the meat every 30 minutes and making sure the juices have not dried up). Lower to 325 degrees and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

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.