Gua Bao (pork belly buns, 刈包)
Tender pork belly sandwiched in a fluffy bun, topped with fermented vegetable & peanuts, Gua Bao delivers a great combination of flavour & texture.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 10 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 300 g all-purpose/plain flour (see note 1)
- 1 tsp instant dry yeast
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 155 ml lukewarm water (see note 2)
- 500 g pork belly
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 thumb-sized ginger
- 2 star anise
- 2 small pieces cassia cinnamon/Chinese cinnamon
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 dried chillies
- 1 small piece rock sugar (or 1 tsp regular sugar)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- coriander (or other herbs of your choice)
- kimchi (or other fermented vegetables, see note 3)
- roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed (see note 4 & 5)
- fresh chilli, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Cut the pork belly into 8 rectangle pieces.
- 2
Heat oil in a frying pan over high heat. Fry the pork belly until both sides turn golden.
- 3
Add ginger, spices, sugar, dark & light soy sauce. Pour in boiling water (just enough to cover the meat).
- 4
Turn the heat down low. Leave to simmer for about 1 hour until the meat becomes very tender.
- 5
IF KNEADING BY HAND: Mix flour, yeast, baking powder and sugar. Add water gradually. Mix with chopsticks/spatula until no more loose flour can be seen. Combine and knead briefly into a dough. Leave to rest for 10 minutes (covered). Knead again until very smooth.
- 6
IF KNEADING WITH A STAND MIXER: Mix flour, yeast, baking powder and sugar in the bowl. Knead on low speed until a very smooth dough forms (about 8 minutes)
- 7
Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
- 8
Press the ball with the palm of your hand. Flatten it with a rolling pin into an oval shape.
- 9
Fold the dough lengthways and place a piece of parchment paper in between (please refer to the tutorial video below).
- 10
Place the buns in the steamer basket (line with steamer parchment paper or brush a thin layer of oil to avoid sticking). Make sure to leave ample space in between each one.
- 11
Leave to rest for around 30 minutes. Well-rested buns should be slightly bigger but not double the size (see note 6).
- 12
Place the steaming basket onto a pot/wok filled with cold water. Start cooking over high heat.
- 13
Turn down to medium-low once the water is at a full boil. Count 10 mins from this moment.
- 14
Open up one bun. Place in coriander, then a piece of pork belly, top with kimchi, crushed peanuts and fresh chillies.
- 15
You may keep cooked buns in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 2 months. Reheat in the steamer. It takes about 4 minutes for fridge-kept ones or 6 minutes for frozen ones (no need to defrost). It’s not recommended to freeze uncooked buns.
- 16
You may also braise the pork belly in advance. Keep it along with the remaining liquid in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 2 months. Reheat in a pan until piping hot.