PRESSURE COOKER ASIAN PULLED PORK BAO BUNS

Bao buns have to be my new favourite obsession. I’ve only recently discovered them and I haven’t stopped thinking about them since. Fluffy, slightly sweet buns, and the filling, well the possibilities are endless! Crispy duck is a favourite of mine but I’m definitely not ready to attempt that yet. So today we are making sweet Asian pulled pork bao buns. And let me tell you they are a labour of love. Yes, they take about 2 hours to make, but I promise you they are worth every second. Thankfully the pressure cooker does most of the work… just set and forget while you make the dough!

First of all, I’m not even going to pretend that I know how to make bao buns from scratch. So I’m going to refer you to someone a little more experienced in this area. I love Marion’s KItchen’s take on bao buns, she has a lot of helpful tips and tricks to get them nice and fluffy.

Making them for the first time I was so nervous, I’m notoriously terrible at making dough of any kind. This time around I thought I had stuffed it up when I checked after it had been resting and it had barely risen at all. I was so worried it wasn’t going to work that I made a second batch of dough, but that one barely rose either! I decided to persevere, and by some miracle, they actually turned out really fluffy and delicious!

Thankfully, most supermarkets stock premade, frozen bao buns which are a great shortcut. But making them from scratch is so much fun and really satisfying when they work!

Another fun addition to these buns is the pickled red onion. You could buy them already pickled but it’s actually really easy to make yourself! In a small jar combine half a red onion thinly sliced, half a cup of water, a quarter of a cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, a pinch of salt and 5-8 black (or Sichuan) peppercorns. Leave in the fridge overnight and you’ll wake up to perfectly vibrant, pickled ribbons of red onion.

These bao buns are loaded with delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pork, fresh slaw and pickled red onion. Something a little bit special to make for your loved ones.

More of my favourite delicious dinners:

• Slow Cooker Korean Pulled Beef
• Rigatoni Alla Vodka
• Chunky Steak and Red Wine Pies
• 15 Minute Creamy Ramen Carbonara
• Baja Fish Tacos with Citrus Mango Salsa

And finally, if you make these Pressure Cooker Asian Pulled Pork Bao Buns be sure to leave a comment and tell me about it! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!

PRESSURE COOKER ASIAN PULLED PORK BAO BUNS

Course: DinnerDifficulty: Moderate

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

45

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

15

minutes

Delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pork, sandwiched in fluffy buns with fresh cabbage and apple.

Ingredients

• Bao Buns

• 2 cups plain flour

• 1/4 cup skim milk powder

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 packet instant dry yeast

• 1 tbsp white sugar

• 2 tbsps vegetable oil

• 200ml warm water

• Pulled Pork

• 1 pork shoulder

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 2 tbsps soy sauce

• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 tsp ginger minced

• 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

• Filling

• 2 tbsps Kewpie mayo

• a quarter of a cabbage shredded

• 1 green apple shredded

• 1/2 a pickled red onion

• fresh coriander and mint for garnish

Directions

• Pulled Pork
• In a small bowl combine the chicken stock, soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic, ginger and Chinese 5 spice.
• Cut the rind and as much fat as you can off the pork. Set your pressure cooker to sauté and pop the pork in with a splash of oil and salt and pepper. Chop it into large pieces if you need to so that as much of the pork is touching the bottom as possible. Sear for about 10 minutes.
• Pour in the sauce and pressure cook for 75 minutes.
• When it’s done, shred the pork using 2 forks, switch back to sauté and let the sauce thicken for another 15 minutes.
• Bao Buns
• In a bowl combine the dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Pour in the water and oil, stirring until the dough starts to form.
• Empty the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Leave in a warm spot for about 15 minutes until the dough rises.
• Knead it again for a couple of minutes and roll it out until it’s about 1cm thick. Brush a little bit of oil over the top and using a round cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. You may need to roll it out a few more times to get more circles.
• Gently fold each dough round in half (oil side inwards) and place on a square of baking paper. Lay a tea towel over all of them and let rise for another 20 minutes.
• Cook them in a steamer over boiling water for 12 minutes, you will have to do them in batches, make sure to leave room for them to expand. Be careful when you pull them out, they will be really hot!
• Assembly
• Assemble by placing spreading some mayo on the buns, then a spoonful of slaw, some pork, red onion, then garnish with coriander and mint.