Gua Bao (Steamed Pork Buns, 割包)

• For Pork:
• 1/2 cup coarse salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1T five spice powder
• 4 star anise, ground
• 1 skinless, boneless pork belly (5 pounds), the thicker the better
• For Buns:
• 1T active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 3T pork fat or lard, melted
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup + 1T sugar
• Melted pork fat
• For serving:
• Hoisin sauce
• Sliced pickled cucumbers
• Finely chopped scallions
• Chopped cilantro

1. For Pork:
2. 1) In small bowl, mix together salt, sugars, and spices. Rub mixture over pork, cover, and refrigerate 10-12 hr.
3. 2) Preheat oven to 300F.
4. 3) Rinse pork and pat dry; transfer to a roasting pan. Roast pork until tender, about 2.5 hr. Increase temp to 450F. Continue roasting pork until fat is golden, about 20 min more. Let cool. Transfer to refrigerator until cold, about 1 hr.
5. 4) Slice pork across the grain and return to baking dish with its juices. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 days.
6. For Buns:
7. 1) Mix together yeast, water, 1T sugar, and 3T fat until yeast is dissolved. Set aside.
8. 2) In bowl of electric mixer fitted with dough hook, mix together flours, salt, and sugar until combined. Add yeast mixture and mix until dough comes together. Knead for 8 min.
9. 3) Coat large bowl with fat; add dough and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hr.
10. 4) Punch down dough. Cut dough into 30 golf ball-sized pieces. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap; let rise 40 min.
11. 5) Cut out 30-4" sq pieces of parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time, press dough flat and, using a rolling pin, roll dough into a 6x3" oval. Repeat process with remaining dough. Brush half of each piece lightly with fat and fold in half using a chopstick. Place on an piece of parchment. Cover loosely with a towel and let rise, about 40 min.
12. 6) Place buns on their parchment in steamer and steam over high heat until puffed and cooked through, about 8 mins. Remove pan from heat and let buns rest in steamer covered and undisturbed for 2 minutes.
13. 7) Remove buns from steamer and let cool until they are no longer damp.
14. To serve:
15. 8) Cover pork with parchment-lined foil; transfer to 350F oven until warmed, 20 min. Brush hoisin on half of each bun. Top with 2 to 3 slices of pork, dress as desired. Serve immediately.

coarse salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, t, anise, skinless, active dry yeast, water, t, flour, bread flour, salt, pork fat, hoisin sauce, cucumbers, scallions, cilantro

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/gua-bao-steamed-pork-buns-50116578 (may not work)