Easy Steamed Pork Buns (Momofuku & Ippudo-Style)

Make the pork belly braising liquid. In a liquid measuring cup, add all of the ingredients (except the pork belly) and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Brine the pork belly. Add the pork belly and the scallions to a sustainable plastic bag, or other air-tight container and add the brining liquid. Seal it up being sure the pork is completely covered in the brining solution and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Braise the pork belly. Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Remove the pork belly and scallions from the brine and discard the liquid. Place the pork on top of the scallions in an oven-proof baking dish. Stir the water and chicken stock together and pour it over the pork belly and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 2 1/2 hours until the pork is tender. Turn the oven temperature up to 450F/232°C, remove the foil, and continue baking until the top is golden brown about 30 more minutes. You may turn on the broiler function after about 20 minutes if you want to speed up the browning process but watch it carefully so it doesn't burn. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in its juices. Refrigerate the brining liquid.

Refrigerate the braised pork belly. When the pork belly has cooled, remove it from the braising liquid and place it into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. Strain the braising liquid and add it to a glass jar and refrigerate. Remove the chilled pork belly from the fridge and slice it into 1/4 or 1/2-inch slices. You may reheat the slices by dipping them into a pot of reheated braising liquid, or by pan-searing them on each side until just warmed through or until they're golden brown, Enjoy!

Make the tangzhong bao dough starter. In a small pot add 1/4 cup of water and bring it almost to a boil over high heat, slowly add 1/4 cup of flour while whisking the mixture with a fork constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring constantly for a couple of minutes more until the mixture starts to ball up around the fork. Remove it from the heat and place the tangzhong in a small bowl to cool completely to room temperature.

Make the bao bun dough & let it rise (1st rise). Add the flour, yeast, sugar, powdered milk, potato flour, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment and whisk the ingredients well to combine. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly and steadily add the warm water to combine. Stop the machine and add the cooled tangzhong pinching off small pieces into the bowl. Turn the mixture back on to medium-low speed and continue kneading and mixing for approximately 12 minutes stopping the machine periodically to pull the dough back down off of the hook (because it will climb). Once the dough has been kneaded and is smooth, remove it and shape it into a round. Lightly oil the mixing bowl and place the dough round back into it and turn it over to coat all sides with a little oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 to 1.5 hours).

Portion the dough & let it rise (2nd rise). Once the dough has risen, punch it down and form it into a log, and cut 16 equal pieces (about 48g each). Keep the dough covered while you work with one piece at a time to roll them into small round dough balls. Place the rounded dough balls onto a parchment-lined tray, cover loosely with sustainable plastic wrap, and allow them to rise for about 30 more minutes. While the balls are rising, cut out 16 pieces of 4x4-inch squares of parchment paper (this will make adding them to the steamer basket a cinch without damaging the risen buns).

Shape the buns & let them rest (3rd rise). Working with one dough ball at a time, press the ball down with your hand and then use a rolling pin to roll the dough into an oval shape about 1/4-inch thick. I don't use flour on the work surface in this step because I roll them out on stainless steel and the dough doesn't tend to stick so much to the surface that I need flour. Just a light tugging is needed to get the rolled dough to pull away from the surface. Brush the top of each oval with vegetable oil, place a chopstick in the middle, and fold the top over the bottom using the chopstick to form a bun and make it easy to gently transfer it to a cut square of parchment paper. Keep all the buns and the dough covered while working so the dough doesn't dry out. Let the buns rest covered for 30 more minutes to rise just slightly.

Steam the buns. Set a steamer basket over a pan with enough water to steam the buns for 10 minutes. Do not place the buns where they will be in contact with any water. Add the buns on the parchment squares to the basket making sure the buns do not touch. Cover and steam for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the hot buns from the steamer basket and use them immediately, or allow them to cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Assemble the pork buns. Heat the pork belly slices by using a kitchen torch or pan-searing them on both sides in a skillet. Add a little hoisin sauce, sugar-and-salt pickled cucumbers, a few scallions, and Sriracha sauce to each bun and place 1 or 2 slices of pork belly and serve. You may also add homemade mayonnaise, lettuce, cabbage, or any other toppings you desire. Enjoy!