KOU ROU BAO

Ingredients :
(Recipe adapted from here)

Makes 10-12 buns
1kg whole piece pork belly
5g dried red chillies, seeded
5 cloves garlic
5 star anise
5 slices of ginger
15 whole white peppercorns
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons light soy sauce, plus 2 extra tablespoons
4 tablespoon sugar, plus 2 extra tablespoons
1 tablespoon cornflour, mixed with 60ml (1/4 cup) water
some 5-spice powder (I added this)

(I omitted these ingredients)
½ cucumber, thinly sliced
30g toasted peanuts, finely chopped
A handful of coriander leaves
Sriracha hot sauce, optional
Pickled Carrot
2 large carrots
1 cup hot water
½ cup rice wine vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt

Gua Bao Dough
200ml water, at room temperature
7g dry yeast
150g high gluten wheat flour (see note), plus extra for dusting
150g low gluten wheat flour
10g dry milk powder
4 tablespoons caster sugar
A pinch of salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

Method
1. Prepare pickled carrot a day or a week before. Mix hot water, vinegar, sugar and salt together, stir well until all sugar has dissolved. Julienne carrots into matchstick size about 5cm in length then put them in an airtight sealed jar. Pour the solution into the jar until all carrots are fully submerged. Close lid and keep in the refrigerator up to a month. The carrot taste better after they’ve been pickling for 3 to 4 days.
2. Put the whole piece of pork belly, skin side up, in a large saucepan and fill it with 2 liters of water or until about an inch high from the skin of the pork. Bring it to the boil on high heat, skim out all the impurities floating on the surface.
3. Turn heat down to a simmer, add garlic, ginger, red chillies, peppercorns, soy sauces and sugar, give it all a stir until the sugar has dissolved. Let it braise for 1.5 hours or until the pork is melting tender but not falling apart. Remove the pork from the stock and transfer to a plate, set aside to let it cool down.
4. Meanwhile, to make sweet sauce, strain 2 cups (250ml) of the braising stock into a small saucepan, add 2 tablespoons each of light soy sauce and sugar then bring to boil. Reduce the liquid by half, stir in cornflour water until it thickens. Remove from heat, set aside until ready to be used.
5. Once the pork is cool enough to handle, cut it into thin slices about 5-7mm thickness. Put the meat back in the stock, close the lid and keep warm until ready to be used.
6. To make the bun dough, add yeast to water and let it activate for 10 minutes or until frothy. Add the remaining dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand-mixer with a dough hook. Pour the yeast water into the bowl and start mixing on low speed until it forms a rough dough. Keep kneading the dough for another 5 minutes until the dough feels smooth and elastic. Grease a bowl with oil and put dough inside, cover with cling film and let it rest for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
7. Punch the air out of the dough, transfer it to a floured surface and spread it out into a 40cmx15cm rectangle, then roll it into a tight log. Cut the log into 12 equal size pieces, about 35-40 grams each. Flatten each dough then roll them up into balls. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. It will double in size again.
8. In the mean time, cut out twelve 8cmx8cm squares of baking paper. Take one dough and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 8cmx15cm oval shape, dip a chopstick in vegetable oil and place it in the center of the oval, fold it in half then pull the chopstick out. Place the bun on a square of baking paper and put it back on the baking tray, repeat with the rest of the dough. Once completed, cover with tea towel and let it proof for another 30 minutes.
9. Set up a steamer over simmering water, in batches and steam the buns for 10 minutes.
10. To assemble, remove paper from the bun and peel it open, layer the bun with cucumber slices, pickled carrot, slices of pork belly and coriander. Slather with sweet sauce and Sriracha sauce, then sprinkle with peanuts. (I omitted this)

Notes: High and low glutton wheat flours are available at any Asian grocers. If is unavailable, you can substitute it with 300g baking flour.

If you do not have a stand-mixer, alternatively you can knead the dough by hands, it will take about 15 minutes to get the dough soft and elastic.