Pork Belly Bao

You may think that it doesn’t get much better than bacon steak on a sandwich. But marinate that pork belly, put it on a light-as-air steamed bun with quick pickled veg, and you have something truly special. The ingredient list on this recipe may look long, but the majority of the components can be made in advance with just a few last minute assembly steps.

Yield: about 6 servings

Ingredients

For the Pork Belly

• 1 3 lb. slab skinless pork belly*

• 1 cup soy sauce

• 3/4 cup mirin

• 1/4 cup water

• 3-4 inch hunk of fresh ginger, peeled

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 bunch green onions (white and light green parts only)

• Aluminum Foil

• Dutch Oven

• Blender

For the Pickles:

• 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced on a mandoline

• 2-3 Fresno chiles, thinly sliced on a mandoline

• 1 cup rice wine vinegar (unseasoned)

• 1 cup water

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon salt

For the Bao:

• 1 package (24 buns) of frozen bao buns (we usually use Wei-Chuan Lotus Leaf Buns; check your local international or Asian-specialty market)

• 1 carrot, peeled and julienned

• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

• 2 tablespoons chile garlic sauce (such as Huy Fong Chile Garlic Sauce)

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil (optional)

Instructions

Score and Marinate the Pork Belly

Place the pork belly on your cutting board with the fat cap facing up. Use a long, sharp knife to cut through the fat (only cutting through the fat, and not into the meat) on a diagonal in one direction, and then repeat in the opposite direction, creating a diamond pattern (see photo below).

Combine the soy sauce, mirin, water, ginger, garlic, and green onion in a blender. Blend on high until the mixture is fully pureed and smooth. Place the scored pork belly in a zip-top bag and pour the marinade in. Marinate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Pork Belly - After marinating and before roasting

Slow Roast the Pork Belly

Preheat your oven to 300°F.

When roasting the pork belly, you’ll want to lift the pork up from the bottom of the dutch oven so that it doesn’t get overcooked or burnt. If you don’t have a rack that fits inside your dutch oven, get creative with some foil. We usually just crunch up a length of foil like a snake and coil it in the bottom of the pot - just enough to make sure that the pork isn’t in direct contact with the pot. Alternatively, if you have some foil mini-loaf pans (as in the photo above), that’ll work too. You can also use a roasting pan or other pot, but the higher sides do help contain any splatter from the pork belly.

With your dutch oven prepared, remove the pork belly from the marinade and place directly on the foil. Roast in the oven for about 2-2.5 hours, until the scored fat surface looks nice and browned and a good amount of fat is rendered from the meat.

Pork Belly - After Roasting

Increase the oven to 425°F. Roast the pork belly for another 10-20 minutes to obtain a very crispy top surface. Keep an eye on it during this step to make sure the pork doesn’t begin to burn.

Remove the pot from the oven and allow the pork belly to rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. Make ahead: You can roast the pork belly a day in advance. Just remove it from the pot after roasting, wrap tightly with foil and stash in the fridge.

Make the Pickles

While the pork belly is roasting or resting, make the pickles for the sandwiches. Place the sliced cucumbers and Fresno chiles in a large heat-resistant dish. I like to combine these in one dish so that the heat from the Fresno chiles blends with the brine to lend a light spice to the cucumbers. You can keep them in separate containers though, if you’d like.

Raw cucumbers and Fresno chiles, ready for brine.

Make the brine by combining the rice wine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour the hot brine over the vegetables.

Place a sheet of paper towel over the top of the vegetables to make sure they remain fully immersed in the brine.

Vegetables in brine, with a paper towel “lid”

Place the container in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the vegetables to lightly pickle and cool down. Make ahead: The pickles can be made a day in advance, just cover the container and stash in the fridge (leave the paper towel in place for at least the first 30 minutes).

Prepare and Assemble the Bao

Slice and brown the pork belly

As the pork belly cools, it will become easier to slice (this is where making it a day ahead of time will certainly lend in your favor). Cut the pork belly against the grain into about 1/4” slices. You can cross cut these slices into smaller pieces if you’d like (we usually do, just to have bite-size pieces). Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and line a plate or baking sheet with paper towel. Cooking in batches, brown the slices of pork belly (just a minute or two per side to get a nice light brown color).

Pork belly slices, browned.

Steam the buns

Cook the buns according to the directions on the package. Usually, this will be to heat about an inch or two of water to a boil under a steamer basket. Spray the steamer basket lightly with cooking spray. Place the buns in the basket, cover, and steam for about 8-10 minutes. Remove the buns from the basket and immediately place on a plate and cover with a wet paper towel. The buns will dry out quickly, so it’s best to keep them covered until you’re ready to assemble. This should be a last minute step. Don’t steam the buns too far in advance of assembly.

If you don’t have a steamer (like us), try this hack with a large pot, a metal strainer, two binder clips (just remove the handle portions after getting the clips in place, if needed to fully cover the pot), and an over-sized lid:

Steamer Basket Hack. Just cover with an over-sized lid and you’re set.

Make the sauce

In a small saucepan, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, chile garlic sauce, and optional sesame oil (we really enjoyed the flavor of sesame with the sauce). Whisk the mixture over medium heat, until it just comes together. Taste and adjust with additional soy sauce or chile garlic sauce if needed.

Assembly

You made it! The final step! Your reward is coming. Take a steamed bun and open it up (if you’re using lotus leaf buns, just open at the fold; if you’re using full buns, slice the buns in half, just shy of cutting all the way through). Top with a few pieces of browned pork belly, a few pickled cucumbers and Fresno chiles, and some julienned carrot. Drizzle a bit of sauce over the top of everything and dig in. We promise it will be worth it.

Time to eat. Up close and personal with the final bao product.

Notes

*We usually buy about 10 lb. slabs of skinless pork belly from Costco. Around the St. Louis, MO area, they run just shy of $3/lb. Cut the large slab into three even pieces and freeze the extra slabs for a later use.