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.