In the next of my series of World Cup food (see previous post) I visit South Korea as tonight they take on Belgium.
I haven't eaten a huge amount of Korean food but when I started researching the best Korean foods all that kept popping up was Flesh and Buns in London. Then, lo and behold, I went to Taste of London and tried their BBQ Pork steamed bun...and my life has changed.
Desperate to eat it again, but with nowhere near me selling frozen steamed buns I took the leap and decided to make them myself, bun and all.
My buns turned out pretty ropey (I followed this recipe here) but the meat was so incredibly delicious it didn't matter. It doesn't take much time to prepare the pork, then you just leave it to get all soft and tender and gorgeous until you're ready to eat.
For yours you will need:
A slab of skin-on pork belly, cut into 2-inch strips, then sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
2 slices fresh ginger (unpeeled)
1 star anise pod
1 small fresh red chilli
2 tablespoons brown
60ml Asian rice wine
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
60ml dark soy sauce
60ml light soy sauce
800ml water
1.Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Cook pork belly until lightly browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip pork belly and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer pork belly to a plate and set aside.
2. In the same pan, add the garlic and ginger and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until fragrant. Add star anise, chilli and sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar is melted and bubbling. Add the rice wine and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add five spice powder, dark and light soy sauces, and water and bring to a boil.
3. Return pork belly to the skillet and reduce heat to low. Cover the pan and cook until pork belly is very tender, at least 1 hour or preferably 2 hours.
4. Steam the buns for about 15 minutes, and serve filled with a slice of pork belly, a slice of cucumber and some crispy iceberg lettuce inside.
Hello succulent, juicy, BBQ-ey pork in a soft, fluffy bun!
Enjoy!