To brine the pork belly, use a gallon-size freezer bag. Place the belly in the bag, then pour in the sugar-salt-water mixture, squeezing out as much air as possible before sealing. To make sure the belly stayed entirely submerged overnight, I flipped the zipper edge over the rail on my fridge door and used a piece of duct tape to keep it in place. No need to check or turn or flip the bag while the belly brines.
- To brine the pork belly, use a gallon-size freezer bag. Place the belly in the bag, then pour in the sugar-salt-water mixture, squeezing out as much air as possible before sealing. To make sure the belly stayed entirely submerged overnight, I flipped the zipper edge over the rail on my fridge door and used a piece of duct tape to keep it in place. No need to check or turn or flip the bag while the belly brines.
- When you remove the pork the next morning, it will have firmed up a little, but not nearly as much as if you were curing it for bacon (which takes about a week to do). Still, the familiar striations of fat and meat make it look just like bacon, but don't be fooled--you'll be better off braising the hunk of meat at this point.
- After braising in the broth/water for about 2.5 hours, the pork belly will have shrunk up a little and will be incredibly tender. Resist temptation and put the pork in the fridge to firm up so you can slice it for the sandwiches later.
- After you've let the dough rise and you've rolled it out into a log, section it into about 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3"x6" oval and brush half of the oval with olive oil. Make sure you brush the oil all the way to the edges or you'll have trouble opening up the buns to make the sandwiches later. Set aside under a damp towel while you roll out the rest of the pieces.
- Once you've rolled and brushed the to-be buns, place them on individual 3"x3" pieces of parchment paper or wax paper and let 'em rise once more (about 30 min.) before popping 'em in the steamer.
- I use a bamboo steamer to steam the buns, which allows me to steam about 8 at a time (four on each level). Make sure you leave them on the parchment or wax paper when you steam them, otherwise you'll have tough time getting them out of the steamer without sticking.
- Post-steam: Pillowy perfection, just waiting for some pork belly.
- In addition to the hoisin and a couple slices of plum, this sandwich begs for thin slices of cucumber and scallion.
- After chilling the pork you'll find it's much easier to slice it into manageable pieces. Cut each piece about 1/4" thick, if you want two slices on your sandwich, or 1/2" thick if you prefer just one big slice.
- To assemble: Brush the bottom of the bun with hoisin, place a couple of thin slices of cucumber on top, then the pork belly and then the scallions. If you're also adding the plum slices, put them between the scallions and the bun.
- More >
