Taiwanese Pork Belly Buns (Gua Bao) Recipe

• 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
• One (1-pound) slab skin-on pork belly, cut into 2-inch strips, then sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 (1/8th-inch) slices fresh ginger (unpeeled)
• 1 star anise pod (optional)
• 1 small fresh red chili, such as Thai chili (optional)
• 2 tablespoons rock, brown or raw sugar
• 1/4 cup Asian rice wine
• 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder (see note)
• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 4 cups water
•  
• 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon rock, brown, or raw sugar (see note)
• 6 fresh or frozen Chinese-style steamed buns (see note)
• 6 sprigs fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems chopped
• 4 tablespoons coarsely chopped Asian pickled mustard greens (see note)

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or wok. Cook pork belly until lightly browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip pork belly and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer pork belly to a plate and set aside.
2. In the same skillet, add garlic and ginger and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until fragrant. Add star anise and chili (if using), and sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar is melted and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Add rice wine and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add five spice powder, dark and light soy sauces, and water and bring to a boil.
3. Return pork belly to the skillet and reduce heat to low. Cover skillet and cook until pork belly is very tender, at least 1 hour or preferably 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, combine peanuts and sugar in a blender or food processor and pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides, until the mixture resembles a coarse powder, about 1 minute.
5. Set a steamer over a pot of boiling water. Add buns, cover steamer and cook until buns are heated through and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
6. Spread pickled mustard greens inside each steamed bun and set a piece of pork belly on top of mustard greens. Top pork belly with a pinch of the chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of the peanut powder. Serve immediately.

vegetable, pork belly, garlic, ginger, anise, red chili, rock, asian rice wine, five spice powder, soy sauce, light soy sauce, water, nbsp, peanuts, rock, frozen chinese, cilantro

Taken from www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/04/taiwanese-pork-belly-bun-recipe.html (may not work)