How to make Gua Bao at home? Discover the deliciousness of Taiwanese Pork Belly Buns in just a matter of minutes! My first Gua Bao experience was in New York, where I was enchanted by the tender pork belly that melted in my mouth. I knew right then and there that I had to learn how to make it myself! During my last visit to Taiwan, I even spent nearly 30 minutes in front of a Gua Bao shop, mesmerized by their preparation. Now, I’m excited to share this incredible recipe with you!
For the buns:
2 pounds of pork belly with skin
2 chopped shallots
1 bunch of chopped scallions, the white and middle parts
5 cloves of smashed garlic
2-star anises
1 cinnamon
3 tablespoons of sugar
6 tablespoons of soy sauce
6 tablespoons of rice wine
½ teaspoon of white pepper
½ teaspoon of five-spice powder
2 cups of hot water
1 cup of honey-roasted peanuts
A handful of cilantro
6 doubled buns
For the pickled sour mustard:
8 ounces of Pickled Sour Mustard
A dash of soy sauce
A pinch of white pepper
A pinch of five-spice powder
A pinch of sugar
- Here I have 2 pounds of pork belly that I’ve fully cleaned and sliced into 1 inch pieces.
- In a pan, we are going to pan fry the pork belly without oil for about 5 minutes until they are golden brown (we don’t have to add any oil because the pork belly already has a lot of oil). Take them out and put them aside.
- With the leftover pork oil in the pan, introduce 2 chopped shallots, 1 bunch of chopped scallions (the white and middle parts), 5 cloves of smashed garlic, 2 star anises, 1 cinnamon, and stir-fry until the aroma comes out. Now add 3 tablespoons of sugar and cook until it’s melted. Pour in 6 tablespoons of soy sauce, 6 tablespoons of rice wine, ½ teaspoon of white pepper, ½ teaspoon of five spice powder. Mix well. Transfer back the pork belly. Then pour in 2 cups of hot water or until it covers the pork belly. Cook it on low heat for 3 hours. Occasionally stir and add hot water if the water dries out.
- After one hour of cooking, we are going to steal about 5 tablespoons of pork fat stock from the simmering pot. We’ll use it for the pickled sour mustard later.
- So here we have 8 ounces of pickled sour mustard. I’ve thoroughly washed it, minced it, and soaked it in water for about 1 hour to reduce the saltiness. Now we are going to drain and squeeze out the water.
- Then in a pan, we going to add back the pork fat stock. Then introduce the pickled sour mustard and stir-fry it. Also add a dash of soy sauce, a pinch of white pepper, a pinch of five-spice powder, and a pinch of sugar. Cook until fragrant. Put aside.
- Here I have 1 cup of honey roasted peanuts. And I grounded them in a food processor. Traditionally Taiwanese use just roasted peanuts with sugar. The ratio of peanut to sugar is 2 to 1.
- Boil water in a steamer. Put a steam sheet or parchment paper on it to prevent it from sticking. Then transfer 6 doubled buns in it. Steam for about 5 minutes in high heat.
- After 3 hours of cooking. The pork belly should look like this. This is so heavenly!
