Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly Buns with Pickled Greens and Peanut Sugar

What you need

• 600 g (1 1/3 lb) skin-on pork belly
• 3 tbsp neutral oil, for browning, the dough and brushing the buns
• 4 shallots, peeled and halved
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 3 slice fresh ginger
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 30 g (1 oz) rock sugar, or light brown sugar
• 2 piece star anise
• 1/2 tsp five-spice powder
• 500 ml (2 cups) water, for the braise
• 280 g (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 20 g (2 1/2 tbsp) cornstarch
• 3 g (1 tsp) instant yeast
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 1 tbsp for the dough, 1 tbsp for the peanut powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 170 ml (3/4 cup) lukewarm water, for the dough
• 100 g (3.5 oz) pickled mustard greens, suan cai, from a vacuum pack
• 60 g (2 oz) roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Cut the pork belly into slabs about 4 cm (1 1/2 in) thick, skin on. Cover with cold water in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 min. Drain and rinse off the scum.

2. 2

   Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the clean pot. Fry the shallots, ginger and garlic until golden, 2 min.

3. 3

   Add the pork and sear until lightly browned, about 5 min.

4. 4

   Pour in the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Add the rock sugar, star anise, five-spice powder and the 500 ml water.

5. 5

   Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 1 1/2 hours, turning the pork once. It is done when a knife slides in with no resistance.

6. 6

   Uncover and boil hard for about 10 min, until the sauce turns sticky and glossy. Keep the pork in the sauce, warm.

7. 7

   While the pork braises, stir the flour, cornstarch, yeast, 1 tbsp of the sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add the lukewarm water and 1 tbsp oil and knead for 8-10 min into a smooth, soft dough.

8. 8

   Cover and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

9. 9

   Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll them into balls. Rest for 10 min, then roll each into an oval about 12 cm (5 in) long.

10. 10

    Brush the top of each oval with oil and fold it in half. Set the buns on squares of parchment with 3 cm (1 in) between them and proof them for 30 min, until nearly doubled.

11. 11

    Steam the buns over boiling water for 12 min without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and wait 5 min before opening, so they do not collapse.

12. 12

    Rinse the mustard greens, squeeze them dry and chop them. Crush the peanuts coarsely and mix with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar.

13. 13

    Slice the pork 1 cm (1/2 in) thick. Open each bun, lay in 2-3 slices and spoon over a little sauce. Top with the mustard greens, the peanut mixture and cilantro.

Imported from deabyday.tv. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.