Momofuku Pork Buns

For a recent holiday potluck, I decided to bring something a little different. With all these holiday dinners happening right after Thanksgiving, I'm pretty tired of the standard American holiday fare. I decided to make Momofuku's pork buns. If I can't be in New York, I'll bring New York to me! And who doesn't love pork? I knew if I could prepare it right, it'd be a crowd pleaser. And I aim to please. The recipe is shockingly simple--although it did require me to go to a couple different Asian markets to get all my ingredients. Basically, I just needed pork belly, steam buns, scallions, pickles and hoisin sauce. I decided to make my own pickles and also whipped up some Sriracha mayo. The house smelled like pickles for awhile, but it was so worth it. I hate jarred pickles but love homemade pickled cucumbers.Voila!

Plan ahead, this recipe takes 2 days to prepare correctly. The pork belly is from the Momofuku cookbook and the pickled cucumbers is my adaption of the cookbook's vinegar pickled vegetables.

Pork Belly:

3 lb. skinless pork belly
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar

1. Mix together salt and sugar.
2. Coat the pork belly all over evenly with the mixture. Place in a container and cover. Keep in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, but no longer than 24 hours.
3. Once marinated, pat the pork belly dry and place in an oven proof container, fat side up.
4. Roast at 375 F for 1 hour, basting halfway so the top gets a nice golden color. After the hour, lower temperature to 200 F and cook for approximately another hour. If the top gets too dark, cover loosely with foil. The meat should be soft and tender but not completely falling apart.
5. Allow to cool completely, placing in the refrigerator to chill once it's cool enough to handle.
6. Slice horizontally into 1/4 inch pieces.
7. Place in oven to heat before serving.

Pickled Cucumbers:
2 Kirby cucumbers, sliced 1/8 inch (use a mandolin)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tb salt
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf

1. Heat all ingredients except the cucumbers in a pot of medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the liquid comes to a boil.
2. Lower heat and add cucumbers. Cook for 2 minutes, making sure every piece is submerged in the liquid.
3. Pour into container to cool.

Sriracha Mayo:
1 1/2 tb Sriracha
1/4 cup Mayo
salt and pepper

1. Mix all ingredients together until combined.


To assemble the bun, I steam the buns for about 5 minutes in a steamer (also works for 1-2 minutes in the microwave), slather on Sriracha mayo, hoisin sauce, then layer on pork belly, pickles and diced scallions. Repeat.

A Pork Bun a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Not much going on this week, food wise. I have been eating one of these Momofuku inspired pork buns everyday since it's on the menu at work.

Nothing compares to the pork belly that is made at work. I had some over the weekend and it was dry, not tender or flavorful. How can one mess up pork belly??? It's protected by a yummy layer of fat, and just needs some tender love and care in the oven to reach it's full potential of deliciousness. People who can't prepare it properly should not be allowed to cook pork belly.

2 Hour Ramen @ Ippudo

Over the weekend, Kevin was in town so I took him to the infamous ramen house, Ippudo. I am quite the loyal ramen follower, but I've only been to Ippudo once before. It happened to be a Sunday afternoon so the wait wasn't horrendous. Going on a Saturday night, however, probably wasn't the best idea if I had expected to eat dinner at a normal time. The wait was approximately 2 hours, despite the ridiculous 80 degree temperature in New York. Who wants to eat a eat steaming bowl of ramen when it's 80 degrees out?? Well, besides me, of course. :) So we did what any rational person would do---headed up the street to a bar to kill time. We eventually got a table and promptly ordered a ton of food.

The shochu cocktail with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice is a must. It tasted like a really delicious Greyhound. It's definitely one of those "creeper" drinks where it tastes so good, you forget how much alcohol you're quickly guzzling.

Who knew a simple dish like cabbage with sesame oil, rice crackers and a little salt and pepper could be so yummy? The crunchy texture brings it all together. Love it.

I've never had shisito peppers before but these were lightly fried and came with a side of salty dipping mixture, which we jokingly dubbed MSG (I wouldn't be surprised if it was mixed in there!) It wasn't my favorite dish, but not bad at all.

Mmmm...the one dish I was fantasizing about besides the ramen. These are no Momofuku buns but still hold their own! They're filled with Berkshire pork, lettuce, and some sort of spicy, mayo, chili sauce. I could have eaten all 6, but just had 1. Absolutely delicious!

I decided to go with the miso ramen which came with Berkshire pork, cabbage and scallions. The bowls are huge and I could barely finish half. I can't say that I really see a huge difference in Ippudo ramen and some other top ramen places in the city. The noodles are hand pulled and not too soft or gummy. The broths never disappoint. Is it worth the wait? I definitely think it's worth going at least once.





Restaurants mentioned:
Ippudo
65 4th Ave.
New York, NY 10003