Japanese · Dinner
Braised Pork Belly Steamed Buns
Pork Kakuni Bao
A showstopper Japanese-inspired family feast, meltingly tender soy-braised pork belly served in steamed bao buns with pickled cucumber, spring onion, and kewpie mayo.
$
30 minsPrep
2 hrs 30 minsCook
3 hrsTotal
HardLevel
Nutrition per serving
645Calories
38gProtein
32gFat
52gCarbs
12gSugar
2gFiber
780mgSodium
105mgChol
Goes well with
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international
Instructions
1
Prep
Cut pork belly into a whole piece. Slice cucumber thinly; mix with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt, set aside 10 minutes. Cut spring onion into 5cm lengths and finely slice separately. Slice ginger. Combine flour, yeast, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl.
2
Blanch
Place pork belly in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, cook 5 minutes. Drain, rinse, pat dry thoroughly.
3
Sear
Heat a dry pan over medium-high heat. Sear pork skin-side down 4–5 minutes until golden. Sear remaining sides 2 minutes each. Transfer to a heavy pot.
4
Braise
Add dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, rock sugar, spring onion lengths, and ginger to the pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover with a drop lid, braise over low heat 1.5 hours turning every 30 minutes, until pork is very tender and glaze thickens. Rest 20 minutes in liquid, then slice into 2cm pieces.
5
Build
Mix warm water and oil into flour mixture, knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover, prove 1 hour until doubled. Divide into 8 pieces, roll each into a 10cm oval, brush with oil, fold over a chopstick, slide out. Prove 20 minutes.
6
Steam
Steam bao in batches over high heat 8–10 minutes until puffed and cooked through. While bao cooks, warm pork gently over low heat.
7
Plate
Arrange warm bao on a serving board. Fill each with pork belly slices, pickled cucumber, finely sliced spring onion, kewpie mayo, and a drizzle of hoisin sauce. Serve immediately.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 500g (17.6 oz) pork belly
- 50ml (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) soy sauce
- 40ml (2.7 tbsp) mirin
- 50ml (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) sake
- 20g (0.7 oz) rock sugar
- 200ml (3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) dashi stock
- 2 scallions
- 10g (0.35 oz) fresh ginger
- 150g (5.3 oz) plain flour
- 2.5g instant yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 80ml (1/3 cup) warm water
- 0.5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 large cucumber
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 0.5 tsp sugar
- 0.25 tsp salt
- 30ml (2 tbsp) kewpie mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce