Pork Belly Bao (Gua Bao) (Edit recipe)

Fluffy Steamed Dough folded around Crispy Pork Belly, Pickled Cucumbers, Fresh Herbs, and Hoisin Sauce.

1 hour and 10 minutes

25 minutes

Difficulty:

Intermediate

This is our estimate based on online research.
Calories:	233
Fat:	23 g
Carbohydrates:	3 g
Protein:	4 g
Cholesterol:	0 g
Sodium:	269 mg
Fiber:	1 g
Sugars:	2 g
Calculated per serving.

by Erin Aronowitz

View original recipe

Serves: 8

Ingredients

16.3 oz Biscuits (Buttermilk), (1 can)
12 oz Pork Belly, fully cooked (I bought mine at Trader Joe's)
Carrots, shredded
Cilantro
Hoisin Sauce
5 Chinese Five Spice

Pickled Cucumbers

2 Cucumber, sliced thin
1 cup Water
.333 cup Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sriracha
5 Green Onion (Scallion)

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Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Pickle some Cucumbers. I did a fast version of this by slicing up some cucumbers, and adding it to a bowl with a cup of water, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1 tbsp Maple Syrup (you can use sugar or honey), 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of sriracha, and 5 diced green onions. I let that sit in the fridge for one hour, but it is even better when it sits overnight. These are great on any sandwich!
Crisp up the Pork Belly. I buy my fully cooked pork belly at Trader Joe's, then I sprinkled it with Chinese 5 Spice powder. Then, I browned all sides in a frying pan over medium heat. I wanted the outside to be crispy so I kept flipping it on all sides until i achieved that. You aren't looking to cook it through, since it is already cooked. You just want to make the outside nice and crispy. Once this is done, set it aside
Roll out your biscuit dough into an oblong shape, like the photos above. Then, fold it in half. Add a piece of parchment paper in between the halves so that they do not stick together. Steam the biscuits in a bamboo steamer or steamer basket.
While the biscuits are steaming, slice the pork belly into 1 centimeter thick slices
Once the biscuits are steamed, open them up. Layer in the cucumbers, sliced pork belly, pieces of fresh cilantro, shredded carrots, and 2 teaspoons of hoison sauce. You can use as much sauce as you want, so start with 2 teaspoons and then judge. Fold it over and enjoy!