Taiwanese Gua Bao 刮包 (Braised Pork Belly)
Total time
Author: felix
Recipe type: Appetizers
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 8 pieces
- 8 white buns, steamed
- 1 lb pork belly 五花肉, skin on, cut into ½" slices & as wide as the buns
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 slices ginger
- 3-4 star anise
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp pepper corns
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
- ¼ cup light soy sauce
- ¼ cup dark soy sauce
- ½ cup Chinese cooking wine
- 1-2 thai chillis, de-seeded & sliced (optional)
- 4 cups water
- A handful of salted or roasted peanuts
- Salt and sugar
- 1 cup Chinese preserved mustard greens (available in Asian grocery store)
- Cilantro (for garnish)
- Brown pork belly over medium-high heat in a pot till lightly browned on both sides. Set aside.
- Add garlic, ginger and chillis (if using) into the pot and cook till fragrant.
- Add star anise, pepper corns and sugar, and cook till sugar begins to melt. Add rice wine.
- When it just comes to a boil, add five-spice powder, light and dark soy sauces, and water, and bring to a boil again.
- Place pork belly into the gravy, cover and simmer over low heat for 1-2 hours, till meat is very tender.
- Meanwhile, ground peanuts with mortar/pestle or food processor. For 2 Tbsp of grounded peanuts, add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar.
- Rinse mustard greens under running water to get rid of some of the saltiness. Coarsely chop and set aside.
- To serve, place a piece of pork belly between a hot steamed bun, top with mustard greens, sprinkle some chopped peanut and garnish with cilantro.
Recipe by Ginger and Cilantro at https://www.gingerandcilantro.com/taiwanese-gua-bao-pork-belly/
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