July Recipe #1: Gua Bao ☁️🐖🌮

Check out the stream where I made this recipe!

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PART 1: Clam Shell Buns

⭐ Ingredients
150g flour
20g wheat starch
30g icing sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp yeast
95ml water
20ml neutral oil (+ extra for brushing)

• Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well.

• Add in water and knead until shaggy dough forms.

• Add in oil and knead again until smooth dough forms.

• Cover and proof in a warm place until double in size.

• Deflate proofed dough on a work surface, and divide into 6 even pieces (or however many you want depending on size).

• Gently roll each piece into a ball, set aside covered so they don't dry out as you're working on each piece.

• Take a piece of divided dough, flatten slightly.

• Using a rolling pin, roll dough from the middle up, and from the middle down, to make a long oval.

• Brush surface with neutral oil, fold in half widthwise like a clam shell.

• Use a rolling pin to gently press the folds together to seal the shape.

• Place on a small piece of parchment paper, and place into steamer basket.

• Repeat the steps for each divided piece, and have all of them in the steamer basket.

• Put steamer basket with lid on, over room temp water.

• Turn heat on medium, and steam buns for 15 min.

• Once timer is done, do NOT open the lid, let the buns sit as-is in steamer for another 10 min.

• Enjoy however you like, or with braised gua bao pork!

PART 2: Braised Pork

⭐ Ingredients
1 strip pork belly
1 onion, diced
Garlic, minced
2 tsp ground ginger
2 star anise
1 tsp 5 spice powder
White pepper to taste
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
Splash of cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
2 tsp dark soy sauce
Water to cover contents

Optional:
Peeled boiled eggs
Tofu
Napa cabbage

• Trim some extra fat off of the pork belly, set aside the rest of the meat.

• In a large pot, render the fat out of the pork fat piece, remove the rendered meat and toss away.

• Saute onion, garlic and ginger until translucent.

  • If not enough lard was rendered out, can add in a bit more cooking oil.

• Add in the spices and saute together for another few minutes until aromatic.

• Add in the pork and the rest of the ingredients, mix evenly.

• Let simmer with lid covered for 1 hr, or until pork is tender.

• Flip the pork around halfway to ensure even braising.

• Add in more water if most of the water has steamed away during the braising process.

• Once tender, remove pork, and slice into 1 cm thick pieces.

• Take a bun, open in half, stuff with pork, some roasted chopped peanuts, cucumber, pickled mustard greens, etc. and enjoy hot!