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Sticky Pork Bao Recipe

Sticky Pork Bao

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5 from 3 reviews

  • Total Time: 2 hours 5 mins
  • Yield: 2 (Makes 8 bao) 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

Pork

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 500800 g boneless pork belly, cut into approximately 2 cm or 3/4″ slices (or pork rashers/slices)
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly sliced
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, roughly sliced into matchsticks
  • 1/2 cup Shaoxing wine (can be substituted with regular wine or with water)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup tamari or all-purpose soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Chinese five spice
  • 2 star anise
  • 1/2 cup water

To serve

  • Bao buns
  • Peanuts, crushed
  • Spring onion/scallion, finely sliced
  • Carrot, sliced into batons
  • Cucumber, cut into batons
  • Coriander/cilantro leaves
  • Chilli, finely sliced
  • Equal parts sriracha and whole egg mayonnaise, mixed

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F (140°C fan).
  2. Heat the oil in an ovenproof dish on medium-high heat and cook the pork slices for 3-5 minutes, turning regularly until brown all over. Set aside. Do this in batches if needed so that the pork is not overlapping/crowded in the pan.
  3. Turn the heat off. In the same pan, add the garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds in the residual heat. Add the Shaoxing wine, stir for 30 seconds and then add the remaining ingredients (the brown sugar, tamari or all-purpose soy sauce, Chinese five spice, star anise and water).
  4. Return the pork to the pan. Cover with a lid (or double layers of foil) and cook in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
  5. The pork should be tender enough to break apart with a fork. If not, continue cooking (covered) in 15-minute intervals until it is.
  6. The sauce should be sticky and glaze the pork. If not, simply return the pork and sauce to the stovetop uncovered and cook for 2-3 minutes on high heat or until the sauce has reduced to a honey-like consistency.
  7. Serve the pork in bao buns with all or some of the suggested toppings.

Notes

MAKE AHEAD

Follow steps 1-6 and refrigerate the pork for up to 48 hours in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave; add 1-2 tbsp of water to loosen if needed. Not suitable to freeze.

LEFTOVERS

Refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Reheat in the microwave; add 1-2 tbsp of water to loosen if needed.

  • Author: Nicole
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 2 hours
  • Category: Pork, pork buns
  • Method: pan, assemble
  • Cuisine: Chinese