-
Active Time
1 1/4 hr
-
Total Time
1 day
We knew Chang was something special the minute we tasted his signature dish. He plays with the classic Chinese pork bun, retaining its pillowy white wrapping, adding crisp cucumbers and scallions, and transforming it into an American original with pork belly. Make them at home, and the first bite will prove they are worth the effort.
Ingredients
Makes 16 buns
For pork
For buns
Brine pork:
Step 1
Stir together kosher salt, sugar, and 4 cups water until sugar and salt have dissolved. Put pork belly in a large sealable bag, then pour in brine. Carefully press out air and seal bag. Lay in a shallow dish and let brine, chilled, at least 12 hours.
Make dough for buns while pork is brining:
Step 2
Stir together 1/4 cup warm water with yeast and pinch of sugar. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.) Whisk in dried milk and remaining 3/4 cup warm water.
Step 3
Stir together flour and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in yeast mixture (do not add baking powder yet) with a fork until a dough forms. Knead dough with your hands in bowl until all of flour is incorporated. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface and hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth but still soft, about 5 minutes. Form dough into a ball.
Step 4
Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.
Roast pork while dough rises:
Step 5
Preheat oven to 300°F with rack in middle.
Step 6
Discard brine and put pork, fat side up, in an 8- to 9-inch square baking pan. Pour in broth and remaining 1/2 cup water. Cover tightly with foil and roast until pork is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 450°F, then roast until fat is golden, about 20 minutes more. Cool 30 minutes, then chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.
Step 7
Cut chilled pork across the grain into 1/4-inch slices. Chill slices in pan juices, covered, while making buns.
Make buns:
Step 8
Punch down dough, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and flatten slightly into a disk. Sprinkle baking powder over center of dough, then gather edges of dough and pinch to seal in baking powder. Knead dough with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking until baking powder is incorporated, about 5 minutes. Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then let dough stand 30 minutes.
Step 9
Cut 16 (3- by 2-inch) pieces of wax paper.
Step 10
Form dough into a 16-inch-long log. Cut into 16 equal pieces, then lightly dust with flour and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Roll out 1 piece of dough into a 6- by 3-inch oval, lightly dusting surface, your hands, and rolling pin. Pat oval between your palms to remove excess flour, then brush half of oval lightly with oil and fold in half crosswise (do not pinch). Place bun on a piece of wax paper on a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Make more buns with remaining dough, then let stand, loosely covered, until slightly risen, about 30 minutes.
Step 11
设置一个大蒸架在锅(或锅)nd add enough water to reach within 1/2 inch of bottom of rack, then bring to a boil. Carefully place 5 to 7 buns (still on wax paper) in steamer rack (do not let buns touch). Cover tightly and steam over high heat until buns are puffed and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer buns to a plate with tongs, then discard wax paper and wrap buns in kitchen towels (not terry cloth) to keep warm. Steam remaining buns in 2 batches, adding boiling-hot water to skillet as needed.
Step 12
Return buns (still wrapped in towels) to steamer rack in skillet and keep warm (off heat), covered.
To Serve:
Step 13
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Heat sliced pork (in liquid in baking dish), covered, until hot, 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 14
Brush bottom half of each bun with hoisin sauce, then sandwich with 2 or 3 pork slices and some cucumber and scallions.
·Pork belly can be brined up to 24 hours.
·Pork can be roasted and sliced 2 days ahead and chilled (in liquid), covered.
·Buns can be steamed and cooled completely, then chilled, wrapped tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, up to 1 day or frozen up to 1 week. (Thaw wrapped frozen buns in refrigerator.) Reheat buns, wrapped in a dampened kitchen towel and then tightly in foil, in a 350°F oven until soft and heated through, about 15 minutes.
Leave a Review
Reviews (20)
Back to TopOutstanding! Worth the effort! After comparing recipes with the one in David Chang's cookbook, and reading the reviews, I decided to follow this recipe for cooking the pork belly. It was excellent - easy and very tasty. I used a whole slab of pork belly, which was just over 3 pounds after I removed the skin. I used my own bao skin recipe, which called for milk instead of the water and powdered milk, but otherwise fairly similar. My balls were 40 grams each, yielding large buns - 3-4 per person for a meal.I also used a dab of mayonaise on the top half of the bun (copying Ippudo) which cut the sweetness of the Hoisin. This is a keeper!
forsythtse
Larchmont, NY
7/12/2014
Surprised that Gourmet would print a recipe from David Chang and have it be so different than the one in his book. After reading the other reviews I got a copy of Momofuku from the library and made it as written. Was it as great as Ssam Bar-no way, but Columbus is a long was from the East Village and they were pretty darn good. My buns were a little yellow in color-maybe because I used a very fresh bag of King Arthur unbleached bread flour and the lard from a local butcher was also a bit yellow. So if you're a long way from NYC and have a day to spend in the kitchen give the real deal a try!
Einer2
Hilliard, Ohio
2/7/2014
The pork belly's not bad-- I've certainly had better, and you'll get much more pork bun-y pork with any 'red cooked' belly recipe-- but the buns are vile. I don't know what's behind this trend for these weird, rubbery, flaccid bao, but they cannot compare to the traditional fluffy, well-risen variety. These things were tough on the outside and doughy & over-elastic in the crumb. Those of you who opted to save time and buy real bao made the right choice, unfortunately.
swomack
Charlottesville
8/9/2013
I'm sorry, but that is too high maintenance for a friggin' bun. I'm sure it tastes good, blah, blah, blah, but I'll pass and buy a .99 cent pack, thank you.
jmscooby
5/26/2013
These were really good and seemed very traditional. I made them last week but later tried a less traditional shortcut version which was also really delicious and eliminated the bun making part. when I am in a rush I fear preparing dough! They came out great. here's the recipe I used and you can see photos of how it should look- Yum! http://www.neurotickitchen.com/2013/01/lifes-better-with-bacon-steamed-bacon.html
Vermaid23
1/29/2013
Did my Jewish boyfriend eat pork? Oh yes he did. I'd never made pork belly before, but the recipe was easy and delicious. The buns were time consuming, but well worth it- they do indeed freeze beautifully.
Anonymous
Living in Caracas
1/16/2012
This is a delicious recipe, but i made it from David Chang's book Momofuku. The recipe for the dough is totally different!!!
princesspretzel
10/11/2011
every time i'm in manhattan, i visit at least one of david chang's momofuku restaurants and order one of these buns. i'm actually going to nyc again this weekend, but i couldn't wait so i decided to make these at home the other day. brining and roasting the pork was a breeze. i couldn't believe how easy it was! however, i didn't roast the pork at 450 for an additional 20 minutes, maybe just 5-10. it smelled like it was already done so i took it out so it wouldn't burn. it was perfect. also, i took a short cut by buying the buns. you can find them at the refrigerated section of asian grocery stores. i steamed them, and they came out pillowy soft!
Anonymous
cambridge, ma
7/11/2011
I think this tasted exactly what it was supposed to taste like, but it wasn't to our taste. I think we like things a little spicier and did not fit our palate. I don't think I'll make it again. I stick with making bbq pork shoulder in my smoker.
Anonymous
payson, az
6/29/2010
Lots of work but a great trip to Chinatown. One comment: the buns are tastier when made fresh, and also when you warm them in a dampened towel make the package flat, so they are all heated evenly. Vegetarians got roasted red pepers insteadof port and enjoyed it. It's a bit messy toeat, so serve with lots of napkins (or wipes).
neta1
Israel
1/2/2010
This is a difficult recipe. Not the pork belly - which is a breeze - but the steamed bun part. I did a blog post on the pork belly and most importantly, the trial and error of these fussy buns. http://kitchensidecar.blogspot.com/20 08/12/david-chang-is-my-homeboy- momofuku-pork.html http://kitchensidecar.blogspot.com/20 08/12/steamed-buns-test-kitchen- evolution.html
kitchensidecar
11/4/2009
loved it. I made the buns in the bread maker so it was all pretty much fuss free and came out light and fluffy. I also replaced the Hoi Sin with sweet plum sauce and it was delicious.
mykittyjordy
6/30/2009
I made these for my wife's graduation party and they were a hit! I would guess people that had trouble with dough rising either had bad yeast or possibly overworked the dough...I kneaded for about 1/5 of the recommended time and got wonderfully light, airy buns. I would definitely recommend getting your butcher to skin the bellies for you...I did it myself and deeply regretted it (I did a double recipe and couldn't turn my head for days!)
gtchem99
8/22/2008
these were delish, will definitely make again!
adfoodie
ny
7/25/2008
I don't know why others had problems with this recipe, but it turned out perfectly for me, including the buns. I've had these at Momofuku and this recipe was an exact replication. I'm making them for the second time. They are absolutely sublime
realcuisine
Springfield IL
2/5/2008
See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
-
How to Hack a Steamer Basket Out of a Pie Plate
One kitchen tool solves your problem of not having a bamboo steamer basket. And it'll cost you less than a quarter.
