Yum bun. Bao. Flesh and buns. Momofuku. Thank you glorious chefs
for bringing these sweet buns to everyone's lives. These sweet Asian
pillowy sandwiches are a revolution to my life.. Well, maybe just to my
diet. When I made these Asian lion's head meatballs last year, it was to
satisfy my boyfriend's obsession
love of sandwiches. These certainly tick the box too. The traditional
"gua bao" from Taiwan is the godfather of bao: signature pickled
greens, coriander, crushed peanut powder as the holy trinity of
accoutrements... Lest we forget the sweet and sticky pork belly slices. I
am a total pork belly fanatic and devotee. How I've managed to have so
little pork belly on the blog so far is atrocious. This recipe draws
inspiration from the original, but just some personal tweaks suited to
my taste.
I've got to admit before you read
any further I'm a total cheater here. Those buns...aren't mine. There
are some great recipes out there, but you need time and patience. And
faith that you've not wasted four hours for nothing. When I first
started out recipes for buns for supper clubs, there were so many
variations: different rising times, gluten levels, fat content, flour
brands, kneading levels...it's endless torture if you aren't a pro at
bread. Now, I have a stock pile in my freezer that I can always whip out
should the craving call for me. However, in comes convenient frozen
buns from Asian food stores. Since these buns have become more famous,
they're readily available in most places which is fabbo.
What
goes in it is up to you. I believe pork fillet to be an underused,
value for money, secret weapon for bite sized glory. It's protected in
cornflour when fried, so stays crispy on the outside and full of juicy
goodness on the inside. Tucked into a soft bread bun, sliced carrots and
a sweet coconut cashew crumb it's a perfect "sandwich" to put a smile
on your face. You can use this pork recipe for noodles, rice or a side
dish with vegetables...don't just limit yourself to buns, just enjoy how
you want. The sweet sugar combo will surprise you. I took the idea from
a pork belly dish we have in Hong Kong - where the belly is cooked and
served cold, to dip into a choice of a spicy mustard kick, or caster
sugar for a contrasting flavour.
