Gua Bao is a cut-open steamed bun stuffed with tender, flavorful braised pork, pickled mustard, peanut powder, and cilantro. You can often find this tasty treat at night markets in Taiwan, it is so good that it has made its way across the globe, starting trends in all big cities.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time2 hourshrs
Total Time2 hourshrs15 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Main Dish, Pork, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Asian, Taiwanese
Servings: 8
Author: Choochoo-ca-Chew
Ingredients
Braised Pork
2lbPork BellyButt Roast Work too!
2ClovesGarlic
2TBspSugar
2CSoy Sauce
2Thin Slices ofGinger
1Star Anise
1Chili
The Bun
2CAll Purpose Flour
2TBspSugar
1/4tspSalt
1/2TBspActive Dry Yeast
1TBspVegetable Oil
3/4CWater
Pickled Mustard Green
1Package of Pickled Mustard Green
1TBspSugar
2ClovesGarlicMinced
1ChiliMore if you like it spicy
Peanut Powder
2CRaw Peanutsor use peanut powder if you can find any
3TBspSugar
Cilantro
1/2Bunch ofCilantroChopped
Instructions
Braised Pork
Slice the pork into strips. Roughly 1" thick, 3" tall and 4" in width.
With a Tablespoon of oil, fry the pork strips until the color has changed and some fat has been rendered down. About 3 minutes. Remove from pot.
In the same pot that the pork was fried, leaving only 1 TBsp of oil, smash the garlic, chili and ginger and add to the pot. Fry for 10 seconds then add the sugar until it turns slightly brown and caramelized.
Add the pork back followed by two cups of soy sauce. Be careful the sauce might splatter. Give it a good stir and add enough water to cover the pork.
Add the star anise and bring the pot to a boil then turn the heat down to low. Simmer the pork until soft and tender. 30 minutes to 1 hour. I usually let it simmer until all my other ingredients are ready.
The Bun
Mix all the dry ingredient and oil in a mixing bowl.
Add 3/4C of water and mix with a fork until flaky looking.
Knead with your hands until the dough is soft and smooth. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes. (while you prep for the toppings!)
After 20 minutes, punch the dough down and divide them into 8 even pieces. Roll each piece out into an oval that's roughly 5" in length. Brush the surface with vegetable oil then fold them in half so they don't stick after steaming.
Place the buns 1.5" apart from each other on a steam rack with steam liners and steam on high heat, starting from cold water for about 10 minutes or until cooked. Leave a small crack in the pot while steaming and let the buns sit in the steamer for 5 minutes to cool down slightly before opening the lid so the buns don't collapse.
Pickled Mustard Green
Take the mustard green out of the package, discard the liquid and dice the vegetable. Finely chop the chili.
Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil, add the minced garlic and chili, fry for 10 seconds until fragrant.
Add the diced pickled mustard green, stir-fry until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add 1 TBsp sugar and remove from the pan.
Peanut Powder
Grind 2C of raw peanuts into powder
In a dry pan, over medium heat, roast the peanut powder until slightly golden and fragrant. Remove from the pan and let cool.
After the powder had cooled, add the sugar and mix well.
Gua Bao
To assemble the gua bao, simply open the steamed bun and add a slice of pork top it with pickled mustard green, peanut powder, and cilantro!
Notes
If you have extra pork, it's SUPER TASTY with rice too.