Pork Belly on Steamed Buns with Gojujang Sauce and Pickled Cucumbers

If you haven't eaten all of your pork belly yet and haven't grown weary of my pig jokes...I know, I'm asking a lot.  I have another recipe for you.  Pork Belly on Steamed Buns with Gojujang Sauce and Pickled Cucumbers.  What is gogjujang you may ask?  It is a fermented red pepper paste from Korea.  It's a little spicy plus sweet and smoky and I can't get enough of it lately. 

 Now, here's the thing.  You'll probably only find gojujang at an Asian grocery store or I'm sure you could order it online.  Once you've acquired it, make this sauce below.  Make it a lot.  Use it for these pork belly buns and then make more and toss it with noodles. Bake or fry some chicken and slather it with this sauce. Use it as a dip for egg rolls or dumplings. Add it to your scrambled eggs.  You get the idea.

There are many recipes out there to make your own steamed buns but I bought mine at the Asian market in the freezer section and thawed, then steamed them in a bamboo steamer.  And although the package says you can microwave them instead, don't.  Trust me, they are not good.

The final element, the quick pickled cucumbers add the acid and crunch that the pork belly needs.  And these are so dead simple, they'd make a great side dish at any meal. 

 Here's a thought.  Serve these Pork Belly Buns at your Super Bowl party.  People may miss some of the game when they take a bite and their eyes roll back in their heads.  But that's a risk you'll have to take.  And let's face it, they could get buffalo wings and sliders anywhere.

Pork Belly on Steamed Buns with Gojujang Sauce and Pickled Cucumbers

1. Take pork belly slices out of refrigerator and let come to room temperature.  Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.  Warm pork belly slices in the heated pan starting with fat side down first.  Then turn to warm sides of pork belly, 2-3 minutes.  Do not cook the belly, just warm it.

2. Fill wok with an inch of water and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Set bamboo steamer over wok.  Line steamer with a piece of wax paper and fill with steamed buns.  Do not let them touch each other.  Put lid on steamer and steam for 10-15 minutes.

3.  Slice open steamed buns down the center of the top of the bun, rather than on the side of the bun.  Fill with warmed pork belly, gojujang sauce and pickled cucumbers.  Serve immediately.

Slow-Cooked Pork Belly
Recipe here

Gojujang Sauce
5 cloves of garlic
1 1-1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3T gojujang paste (Korean red pepper paste)
1T honey
3T soy sauce
1 1/2T rice vinegar
1T sesame oil

In a food processor chop garlic and ginger.  My tip: Turn the food processor on and then drop the garlic and ginger down the feed tube and watch the magic happen.  Add gojujang, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil and whiz until combined.

  
Pickled Cucumbers
2 small Kirby or baby seedless cucumbers, slice 1/8 inch thick
1T sugar
3/4T kosher salt
2T rice vinegar

Combine sliced cucumbers, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Mix and let sit for 5-10 minutes.  Rinse salt and sugar off cucumber and pat dry.  Add rice vinegar and serve immediately or keep refrigerated for up to 4 hours.

Slow Cooked Pork Belly Part 1

 Pork belly.  It's cheap, it requires almost no supervision and the result is luscious and porky and versatile.  You'll need to plan ahead with this recipe as you need an overnight cure in the refrigerator, 5-6 hours of cooking time and then overnight again in the refrigerator.  But really, the prep and cooking of it is very hands off.  You could even go see a movie or two while it's transforming itself in your oven.  Insert Public Service Announcement here: Just don't go see Black Swan or 127 Hours before you come home and try to eat. You're welcome.

I bought this pork belly at a local Asian market.  I looked for the thickest piece they had with a nice layer of fat on top.  If yours comes with the skin on (which mine did), just get it really cold and then slice that tough layer of skin off, leaving as much fat behind as you can. 

 Here's a fun fact I learned from Chef David Chang: save the cooking liquid that's left in the pan after cooking the pork belly.  Refrigerate it and then take off the solid layer of fat that rises to the top.  Use that as a flavorful cooking fat (like bacon grease or duck fat).  What's left at the bottom is liquid gold known as "pork jelly" that can be added to soups and sauces to really beef up, or should I say, pork up the flavor.

Your new BFF, pork jelly.

Once you cook the pork belly, you will cover it and compress it with a weighted pan in the refrigerator overnight.  This will compress the meat and melting fat into one compact bite full of flavor.  After that, go hog wild!  My pork jokes are killing you, huh?

See this is why I couldn't work out this day.  Really.  I felt like such an oinker.

Once you've cooked the pork, I suggest one preparation below Part 1-Maple Glazed Pork Belly.  Part 2 will be Steamed Buns with Pork Belly...coming soon.  Because the pork belly is so rich, a little goes a long way and you may want to serve something acidic, bright and crunchy with it to balance the richness.  Try not to pig out!  Gotcha again.

Pork cubes, awaiting their maple bath.

 Slow-Cooked Pork Belly
 
2.5 to 3 pound slab of pork belly
1/4c brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
3 sprigs of rosemary
3 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped off

Pork Belly Cubes with Maple Glaze
Slow-Cooked Pork Belly 
3T maple syrup

1. If skin is still on pork belly, refrigerate until very cold.  With a sharp knife, slice the skin off of the pork belly, keeping as much of the fat intact.

2. Mix brown sugar, kosher salt and thyme leaves together and rub over all sides of the pork belly.  Place pork in a pyrex or roasting pan that is about the same size as the slab of pork belly.  You do not want a lot of room around the meat, you want a close fit.  Tuck the sprigs of rosemary underneath, on top and around belly.  Wrap in pan in plastic and refrigerate for 6-24 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 250 F.  Remove meat from refrigerator.  Unwrap pork belly, rinse or brush off salt and sugar cure and place back in your pan.  Do not dump out whatever liquid has accumulated during your cure. Note: I did not rinse or brush off my salt and sugar and my pork belly was somewhat salty.  I was ok with it but you may want to brush or rinse it off depending on your salt tolerance.

4.  Cook in oven, uncovered for 5-6 hours.  You can baste it occasionally with the liquid in the bottom of the pan if you'd like.  After 5 hours, test with a fork.  It should be very tender.  Not falling apart but you could cut it with a fork. 

5.  Once out of the oven, let cool in same roasting pan then cover dish with plastic wrap.   Put a pan on top (I used a loaf pan) and weight it down.  Literally.  I used a 10 lb. hand weight.  Refrigerate overnight.  You are trying to compress the pork belly. 

6.  Remove from refrigerator and slice while cold.  I cut half into large 2 x 2 inch cubes and sliced the rest. 

7.  Return the slices to the refrigerator for our upcoming pork buns recipe.  Let the cubes come to room temp.  Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. 

8.  Brush the top of the pork belly cubes (the fat portion) with maple syrup and put them fat side down in the heated pan for 1-2 minutes. Next turn cubes on all 4 sides to warm them briefly. You are not trying to cook the belly further, just warm it.  Serve at once. 

Comfort Food

Here's why I love to cook.  (Not that you asked but...)  It's a gift to feed and nurture someone else.  It says "I've thought about you the entire time I was making this."  "I chose the best ingredients, I tasted and seasoned all the while thinking of you." And that's why when someone has  a crisis, a loss or a health problem we bring them food.  We can't take away their pain, but we can comfort and feed their soul.

When I had my babies, bringing me a meal was the loveliest heaven-sent thing anyone could do for me. It was a huge help. And I didn't even mind that everyone brought pasta.  Every. Single. Person.  But really, thank you! 

Here's a perfect recipe that's not pasta, feeds a big group and has something for everyone.  I recently made it for a friend in crisis and there was something to like for each of her four kids.  It's got white and dark meat chicken, sausages, potatoes.  Try it the next time you're helping a friend in need and make a second batch for yourself.  The lemony mustard sauce you'll want to drink by the spoonful and it's a one pan meal which makes it one of the simplest recipes to toss together. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Pan Chicken and Sausage Bake
Slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson
Serves 6-8

2-3 large onions, peeled and cut into eighths
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
8 Italian sauages
1 pound baby white or fingerling potatoes, scrubbed clean
1/2 c olive oil
3 t dry mustard
1T Worcestershire sauce
2-3 lemons
3T fresh sage, chopped finely, divided
salt & pepper



1. In a large plastic freezer bag, combine chicken, onions, olive oil, dry mustard, 1 tablespoon of the sage, Worcestershire sauce and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
2. Cut lemons in half and squeeze juice into bag. Then cut lemons into eighths and add to the bag.  Massage all ingredients together.  Seal bag, squeezing air out first and store in refrigerator overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Allow chicken and marinade to come to room temperature.
5. Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting pan skin side up with the marinade (foil disposable roasters work great when giving this meal away) including the onions and lemons and tuck the sausages and potatoes around them. Sprinkle the fresh sage leaves over the chicken and sausages.
6. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the sausages over half way through to color them evenly.

7. Serve the chicken, sausages, potatoes and onions with the sauce spooned over top.

 

Tartines

It took all of my restraint to not title this post "Who you callin' a tartine?!"

What is a tartine you may ask?  It's a fancy French way of saying open-faced sandwich.  Doesn't that sound so much nicer in French?  "What's for dinner, honey?"  "Tartines, ooh la la!"  vs. "What's for dinner, honey?"  "Part of a sandwich."

The benefits of making tartines are many: You don't have to turn on the oven; they are light; you can use whatever ingredients you have on hand and each person can customize their own.  Add a handful of lightly dressed greens and you have a perfect summer meal.

My one requirement-you must have a good bread for this.  I like a crusty whole grain loaf and I like to slice it myself.  You will be sorely disappointed if you attempt to "tartine" (ooh, look-I created my own verb) with a plastic wrapped sandwich bread.  The bread won't have enough crunch and it won't hold up your toppings.  And you will be totally not French and cool.

So how to tartine?  It's a no-recipe recipe but here's what I did.  Slice that bread and toast it.  Spread a slice with soft goat cheese and top with slow-roasted tomatoes and prosciutto.  For the next tartine, top the toasted bread with Dijon mustard, ricotta cheese and diced, oven-roasted zucchini and onions.  Finish with some grated lemon zest. (This one was inspired by Sprouted Kitchen).

Fresh farmer's market ricotta

And my kids favorite tartine?  Top the toasted bread with a little mayo and Dijon mixed together, mash some avocado on top of that, sprinkle the avocado with a little lemon juice and add a crunch of sea salt flakes.  They call it "avocado toast".  I really need to teach them some French.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Plum (Roma) tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Pinch of sugar (if needed)

1. Preheat oven to 250 F.
2. Core and cut tomatoes in half. Drizzle generously with olive oil, then salt and pepper.  If your tomatoes are not at the peak of the season you can add pinches of sugar as well.
3. Place tomatoes face down on foil lined baking sheet.  Roast for 90 min.
4. Flip tomatoes over and add more olive oil if needed and a touch more salt. You can also add thyme, minced garlic or any other seasonings you like.
5. Continue to roast for 2-3 hours or until tomatoes have collapsed.
6. Transfer to a container.  Be sure to get all the oil and juices left in the pan as well.  If needed, cover with more olive oil.
7. Refrigerate and use with one week.




Oven Roasted Zucchini & Onions

5 zucchini, diced
1 large onion, sliced
1-2 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Cut zucchini into 1/2 inch dice.  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Cut onion in 1/2 thick slices, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Set aside.
3. Roast zucchini on sheet pan for 35 minutes, tossing occasionally.
4. Add onions and roast for another 20 minutes or until zucchini is no longer giving off liquid and is caramelized and browning. (Note: If you add the onions earlier, they will burn.  At this point you could also add garlic as long as you leave it in large pieces, i.e. a clove cut in half.)