Maple Tamari Pork Belly Baos
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We created this twist on the traditional pork belly bao for our first pop up event. The addition of maple sugar and tamari powder gives this a salty sweet complexity that we think is even better than the original!
Level: Moderate
Cook time: 2 1/2 hours
Total time: 10 hours
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
For the pork belly:
- 3 lb slab of skinless pork belly
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons tamari powder
- 2 tablespoons maple sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 12 Gluten Free Bao Company buns
- gluten free hoisin sauce
- thinly sliced scallions
- quick pickles (see recipe)
- Sriracha sauce (if desired)
Directions:
Pork Belly:
- Mix kosher salt, tamari powder, maple sugar, and sugar together and rub all over the pork belly slab.
- Place the pork belly slab into a bread pan or casserole dish so that the pork belly is snug, and refrigerate for 6-7 hours.
- Heat oven to 450F.
- Drain liquid from the bread pan or casserole dish and roast in the oven with the fat side up for 1 hour, basting with the rendered fat halfway through.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 250F and cook for another 1 1/2 hours. A black crust will form, which is just the tamari and maple sugar caramelizing.
- Remove the pork belly from bread pan and allow to cool.
- Cover the pork belly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hour, or until firm.
When ready to serve:
- Remove the pork belly from the plastic wrap, slice into 1/2 inch thick slices, and heat in a skillet over medium heat until slightly browned.
- Steam Gluten Free Bao Company buns per instructions on package.
- Assemble the baos by spooning hoisin sauce into the buns, adding quick salt pickles, and topping with 2-3 slices of pork belly and sliced scallions.
- Drizzle with additional hoisin and sriracha (if desired) and enjoy!