momofuku inspired pork buns

This is one of my most favorite foods from Momofuku restaurant besides ramen.  Since I found out this pork buns recipe, my friends and I have felt in love with it. It requires a lot of time to make such as marinating the meat and letting it rest for a long time so that it can have a shining, distinctive flavor which is one of the most important ingredients here. So I usually marinate the night before.

The bun is the combination between a modern sandwich and traditional bun. The meat inside doesn’t need to be minced and mixed with vegetable but still have lot of flavors like the traditional ways. Meat, hoisin and fresh pickled cucumber are perfect combo. David Chang is so genius to create this.

Recipe inspired from momofuku inspired pork buns

For the meat, I like to marinate in Vietnamese way

1,2 kg pork

2 tbsps sugar

2 tsps salt

2 shallots, minced

1 tsp black pepper, very grounded

2 tsps knorr

1 tsp fish sauce

1.     Mix all ingredients well, rub all over the pork, give it a good massage, cover with plastic wrap, put it in the refrigerator at least 5-6 hours

2.     Let the meat in room temperature 20 minutes before cooking.

3.     Fry the meat in pan to golden with oil.

4.     Put it in a baking tray, bake at 200C in 1 hour or so. Checking the time and temperature, you can reduce and increase the temperature depending on the oven so it can be cooked perfectly inside.

5.     Let it rest a few minutes before cutting into slices.

For the pickled cucumber

1.     Slice cucumber thinly

2.     Mix cold water, sugar and vinegar, put the slice cucumber in about 10-20 minutes

For the buns

·         1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast

·         4 1/4cups bread flour

·         6 tablespoons sugar

·         3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder

·         1 tablespoon kosher salt

·         ½ teaspoon baking powder, rounded

·         ½ teaspoon baking soda

·         1/3 cup rendered pork fat, bacon fat or vegetable shortening, at room temperature

·         Vegetable oil

·         1 cup hoisin sauce

·         ½ cup thinly sliced scallions (green and white parts)

·         Sriracha, for serving

1.     Stir together the yeast and 1 1/2 cups room temperature water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the flour, sugar, milk powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and fat and mix on the lowest speed setting for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should gather together into a ball on the hook. Lightly oil a large bowl and put the dough in it, turning it over to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with a dry kitchen towel and put it in a warm place and let the dough rise until it doubles in size, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

2.     Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a clean work surface. Using a sharp knife, divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 5 equal pieces. Gently roll the pieces into logs, then cut each log into 5 pieces, making 50 pieces total. They should be about the size of a Ping-Pong ball and weigh about 25 grams each. Roll each piece into a ball and set them on baking sheets. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for 30 minutes. While they're rising, cut out fifty 4-inch squares of parchment paper.

3.     After 30 minutes, use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a 4-inch-long oval. Brush lightly with vegetable oil, lay a chopstick horizontally across the center of the oval and fold the oval over onto itself to form a bun. Gently pull out the chopstick, leaving the bun folded, and transfer it to a square of parchment paper. Put it back under the plastic wrap and form the rest of the buns. Let the buns rest for 30 to 45 minutes: they will rise a little.

4.     Set up a steamer on top of the stove. Working in batches so you don’t crowd the steamer, steam the buns on the parchment squares for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment. You can use the buns immediately or allow them to cool completely, then put them in plastic freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat frozen buns in a stove top steamer for 2 to 3 minutes, until puffy, soft, and warmed all the way through. Freeze half the buns in airtight bags for another time.

5.     Open a warm bun and spread about 2 teaspoons of hoisin sauce on the inside. Add 2 pieces of pork belly, then a couple slices of pickle. Add a scattering of scallion and a squirt of sriracha if you like. Repeat with the remaining buns, and eat!