Chang’s Pork belly buns
29 Mar
Upon doing a quick Google search for pork belly, I came across a lot of links that pointed to David Chang’s recipe for pork belly buns.
The recipe I found on Epicurious includes instructions for a big slab of pork belly, as well as instructions for homemade buns.
Since I don’t have a steamer, I was nervous about making the buns myself. So I took the easy way out and bought the fluffy, pillowy buns at the store. And while julienning the cucumbers made for a pretty presentation, cutting them in circles is optimal for getting the cucumber’s crispy texture into every scrumptious bite! I have a feeling that this recipe will be one that I will be making quite often from now on!
Recipe: Pork belly buns
From epicurious, with serving adjustments
Makes 10 servings
Ingredients:
3 strips of thick cut pork belly
10 frozen Lotus seed buns
4 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons of chicken stock
1 Kirby cucumber, julienned
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
Procedure:
1. Dissolve sugar and sea salt in 2 cups of boiled water. Let water cool, then pour over the pork in a tightly lidded container. Let rest for 12 hours.
2. When ready, bake pork in 300 degrees with 3 tablespoons of chicken stock, covered in foil, for 7 minutes.
3. Remove pork oven. Sear pork in a hot cast iron pan until crispy, about 3 minutes on each side. Slice into quarters. Cover and keep warm.
4. Boil 2 cups of water in a big pot and steam the buns, about 2 minutes each, until soft. (Like my make-shift steamer?)
5. Assemble by brushing Hoisin sauce on the buns. Add cucumber slices, and one piece of pork for each bun.
Here’s the cost breakdown for 10 pieces. (Keep in mind that my purchases were at a Chinese grocery store, which tend to be generally cheaper.) You can buy more pork if you want more than one piece per bun.
3 strips of thick cut pork belly ($1.82)
10 frozen Lotus seed buns ($1.50)
4 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce ($. 30)
3 tablespoons of chicken stock ($.20)
1 kirby cucumber ($.38)
1 teaspoon of sugar ($.15)
1 teaspoon of sea salt ($.20)
Total: $4.55
