Pork Belly Bao Buns

Preparation

Glazed sweet-and-salty pork belly and soft steamed bao buns are a perfect pairing. This recipe yields plenty of buns, ensuring everyone gets their fill. To speed up the braising, we trim the pork belly into smaller pieces, allowing it to become tender in just about an hour.

1. Cut the pork belly strips crosswise into 3- to 4-inch/8- to 10-cm long pieces. In a HexClad 4.5QT/4.3L Hybrid Deep Sauté Pan, warm oil over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, cook pork belly in a single layer, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a large plate and repeat with remaining pork belly.

2. Return pork and any accumulated juices to the pan. Add the 2 chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic and stir to combine with pork. Add soy sauce, hoisin, brown sugar, Shaoxing wine, and 2 cups/500ml of water and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover and reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is fork tender, 1 to 1½ hours.

3. Using tongs, transfer pork belly to a large bowl. Strain cooking liquid through a fine mesh sieve set over a large liquid measuring cup; discard solids. Skim as much fat as you can from top of sauce; discard. Return cooking liquid to sauté pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick and syrupy and has reduced by about two-thirds, 10 to 15 minutes. Return pork belly to sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is nicely coated with sauce and heated through, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm. 

4. In a HexClad 8QT/7.5L Hybrid Stock Pot fitted with a HexClad 10"/25cm Hybrid Steamer Basket, bring 1 quart/1 litre of water to a simmer over medium heat. Working in batches, arrange 6 to 8 bao buns in steamer basket, propping 6 upright around the perimeter of the basket and placing the remaining 2 in the center. Cover and cook according to package directions, about 10 minutes for frozen bao. Transfer to a platter and repeat with remaining bao buns. Let cool slightly.

5. In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise with chili garlic sauce. While bao buns are still warm, pull halves of buns apart without separating them fully. Spread a small bit of hoisin or spicy mayonnaise on the bottom and/or top half and then fill with 1 to 2 pieces of pork belly (depending on their size). Top as desired with cucumber, sliced scallion, cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds. Serve with extra hoisin, spicy mayonnaise and chili garlic sauce on the side. Serve warm.

NOTE Dark soy sauce has a rich, almost caramelized flavor. It can be found at most Asian markets or purchased online at amazon.com. While it does require special sourcing, it is well-worth the effort for the complexity it adds to this sauce.

Bao buns can be found at most Asian markets in the frozen or refrigerated sections.