Gua Bao Image used Under Creative Commons License From tastegroupla.com
Citizens, Happy New Year to you all! Let’s kick off 2017 properly with a delicious and classic street food from Taiwan, shall we? 🙂
Gua bao – literally: “cut bread” are also known as steamed bao, pork belly buns, or ambiguously, bao.
They are a Taiwanese snack food consisting of a slice of stewed meat and other condiments sandwiched between flat steamed bread.
The steamed bread is typically 6–8 centimetres (2.4–3.1 in) in size, semi-circular and flat in form, with a horizontal fold that, when opened, gives the appearance that it has been sliced.
The traditional filling for gua bao is a slice of red-cooked pork belly, typically dressed with stir-fried suan cai (pickled mustard greens), cilantro, and ground peanuts.
The food is known colloquially in parts of Taiwan as hó͘-kā-ti (虎咬豬; “tiger bites pig”) due to the mouth-like form of the bun and the contents of the filling. Gua bao are also called “Taiwanese hamburgers
This Taiwanese street side snack is delicious and the soft steamed buns make it impossible to just stop at one.
The good thing is you can make the buns, the pork and the pickle way in advance, which makes the process less stressful. The buns can be made even a week in advance and they just need to be stored in the refrigerator. Just re-steam before use and they would be as good as fresh.
My version of this classic recipe of course utilizes the TFD trademark of ruthless authenticity sprinkled with my own particular tweaks!
1 tbsp. rendered pork fat or lard (preferred) or vegetable oil
oil, to brush the buns
red food coloring, (optional)
Braised pork filling
500g of skinless pork belly
2 red chilies
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 ginger, peeled and crushed
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
8 peppercorns
4 tbsp of dark soy sauce
2 tbsp of Chinese yellow rock sugar (preferred) or regular sugar
water, as needed
Shaoxing rice wine
Pickled vegetables
Pickled mustard green is known as suan cai (酸菜) in Chinese with a very unique sour taste. After being minced and briefly stir-fried, it presents a milder sour taste that can eliminate greasiness. If this is unavailable, you can use other pickles such as Kimchi
1/2 cucumber
10 radishes, small, cut in rounds
1/4 cabbage, julienned
1 green chili, slit
120ml of distilled white vinegar
2 tbsp of sugar
3 tbsp of water
For garnish
coriander, chopped
1cup toasted peanuts
1 tbsp. sugar powder
Optional spicy sauce
2 fresh thai bird peppers
2 minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced scallion
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
To begin, prepare the pickled vegetables. Mix together all of the cut vegetables (not the suan cai, if using) in a bowl
Bring the vinegar, sugar and water to a simmer in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Adjust the seasoning according to taste
Set aside to cool, then add the pickling liquid to the prepared vegetables, mixing well
Transfer to a clean glass jar and refrigerate until ready to use. It’s ideal if you can prepare this a day or 2 ahead for the pickling effect to be obvious. Use the suan cai in a 50/50 ratio to the pickled veggies – if not using then obviously use all pickled veggies.
Now make the dough. Add the flour, milk powder, sugar, yeast, salt, baking powder, oil and baking soda to a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the lukewarm water, using a wooden spoon to bring it all together
Either using the dough hook of a standing mixer or with your hands on a clean surface, knead the dough until it no longer sticks and is elastic and pliable – this should take around 5–6 minutes on medium speed in a mixer or around 10 minutes by hand. If you feel it needs more flour, add only a spoonful at a time
Grease the mixing bowl with oil and put the dough inside. Cover with cling film and set aside to rise. I preheated my oven at 100°C for about 6 –7 minutes and placed the bowl inside with the light on. It took the dough about 2 ½ hours to double in size
Cut out 20 square pieces of baking paper while the bun dough is proofing
Punch the dough down, transfer the to a lightly floured surface and shape into a thick log. Slice the log into 10 equal parts and roll each part into a neat ball
Roll out each ball into an oval shape and brush with some oil. Place 1 square of baking paper on 1 side of the dough and fold the dough over the paper so it is sandwiched inside. Place this on another baking paper sheet and repeat the process with the remaining balls
Set aside to double in size for around an hour or so. I decided to add a design of three spots over the bun as is traditionally done, but it’s purely optional. Use a chopstick to dip in the red colour and put 3 spots on each bun
When ready to steam, place a bamboo steamer over a pot of simmering water and place the bao buns (with baking paper still attached) into the steamer
Steam them for about 10 minutes, making sure the water temperature is not too hot
Once the buns are really puffy, take them out of the steamer and set aside until ready to use
To make the filling, place the cut pork belly in a pan and fill with enough water (with a good splash of shaoxing rice wine added) to cover the meat completely. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat for a couple of minutes until you can see that all the foam-like impurities floating on the top. Remove these with a spoon and drain the meat in a colander, rinsing well with cold water while you’re at it
Transfer the meat to same pan and add all of the remaining ingredients. Give everything a good mix
Cook on low heat for about 1 1/2–2 hours, checking occasionally and adding dashes of water if you think it’s drying out
Let the meat braise until it is completely cooked and is tender, but not falling apart. Remove the pork from the stock and set aside. Resist the urge to eat this on its own.
If your sauce isn’t thick enough, add a bit of cornflour and keep boiling until it becomes thick and syrupy.
Toast the peanuts and then grind them into a very coarse powder, then mix with 1 tablespoon of sugar powder.
To assemble, fill the buns with pickled vegetables and pork belly. Spoon over the thickened sauce and serve with a sprinkling of chopped coriander.
Add optional spicy sauce and serve immediately.
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This Taiwanese food looks like hamburger.
Goodah,