Recipe by Jasmin Weston
This sticky braised pork is top tier if I do say so myself. The Chinese cooking wine takes this dish from home-cook to restaurant quality. Although braising may sound intimidating, trust me when I tell you, this dish is a lot easier than you think. The ‘wow’ factor is HUGE with this one.
Serves: 3 (makes 6 bao)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
500–650 g rindless pork belly rashers
6 frozen bao buns (available from your local Asian grocer, or in the freezer section at major supermarkets)
Pickled Veggies
250 ml (1 cup) water
250 ml (1 cup) white vinegar
110 g (½ cup) white sugar
2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
1 continental cucumber, finely sliced
1 carrot, finely sliced/peeled
Sauce
115 g (½ cup) brown or raw sugar
125 ml (½ cup) soy sauce
3 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
2 star anise
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
To Serve
spring onion, finely sliced diagonally
fresh parsley or coriander leaves
Kewpie mayo
Method
1. Mise en place (get all your ingredients and equipment ready before you start).
2. For the pickled veggies, in a small saucepan over medium–low heat, bring the water, vinegar, sugar and peppercorns to a low simmer and cook just until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Place the cucumber and carrot in a sterilised Mason jar (at least 600ml in size) and carefully pour the pickling liquid into the jar to cover the veggies. Screw on the lid and set aside in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour – leave overnight for best results.
4. Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and mix to combine.
5. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat and sear the pork belly rashers on both sides until golden. This will only take a couple of minutes.
6. Once seared, transfer the pork belly to a chopping board – leave the pan on the heat but reduce the heat to medium. Holding the pork belly with tongs, use a sharp knife to cut the rashers into 5cm strips.
7. Add the sauce to the pan and stir constantly. Once the sauce reaches a low simmer and the sugar has dissolved, return the pork belly to the pan. Reduce the heat to low, cover and allow the pork belly to braise for 30 minutes, ensuring you flip the pieces of pork a few times during cooking.
8. By the time 30 minutes is up, the sauce should have reduced down and thickened into a glossy sauce. If not, remove the pork from the sauce, increase the heat ever so slightly and cook until the sauce begins to bubble, then allow an extra 10-ish minutes for the sauce to reduce.
9. Once the sauce is thick and glossy, transfer it to a jar or bowl.
10. Steam the bao buns according to the packet instructions.
11. Fill the bao buns with the freshly pickled veggies, a slice or two of pork, a good drizzle of the sticky braised sauce, some spring onion and fresh herbs, a good squeeze of Kewpie and serve.
Leftovers
Store any leftover pork in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. Simply steam more frozen bao buns when you’re ready to eat the pork again.
This recipe is extracted with permission from Everyday Eats by Jasmin Weston, RRP $45, Pan Macmillan Australia.
