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We were cooking with friends this weekend, so I decided to make David Chang's signature dish - Momofuku pork buns.
First off, I couldn't find pork belly at either Wegman's or Whole Foods, but thank goodness for the Amish market. I got a great thick piece of pork belly there and set it up to brine overnight in a solution of water, salt and sugar.
I followed
David Chang's recipe on epicurious, which was actually different than the one in his cookbook. The one online was brined in liquid as opposed to dry-rubbed in the cookbook, and the meat is kept in the juices throughout the whole process, so I figured maybe we'd end up with juicier pork.
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After brining for 12 hours, I set to roasting the pork belly - fat side up - in a low temperature oven - 250 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. Then you turn the heat up to 450 and continue baking uncovered for 1/2 hour to crisp the fat.
Next the whole thing is chilled. This let me skim off the fat from the juices, plus it makes the pork much easier to slice.
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After cutting into slices, you keep the slices in the juice, then right before serving, reheat covered in the oven.
Chang also had a recipe for the steamed buns, but I wasn't ambitious enough to try those yet. Instead, I bought buns from the Asian market, and steamed them while the pork was reheating.
Finally last step is assembling - hoisin sauce, pork, cucumbers and scallions. Delicious!
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Post by fougoo, photos by 1000yregg