Name: Pork Buns
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: Makes 15 buns
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 225 g (8 oz) acacia or other light honey or liquid glucose; 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) soy sauce; 750 g (1 lb 10 oz) pork shoulder or loin; 2 pinches cornflour (cornstarch); 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1½ teaspoons Chinese five-spice; 1 quantity challah dough; 2 pinches bicarbonate of soda (baking soda); 45 ml (1½ fl oz) rice vinegar or Mei Kuei Lu Chiew (Chinese rose wine); 30 g (1 oz) peanut butter; 2 teaspoons rice vinegar

Preparation info

Makes
15
buns

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
2 hr 30

Appears in

New York Cult Recipes

By Marc Grossman

Published 2013

About

In a typical New York mixed marriage, this popular Chinatown fast food can be recreated at home by combining the basic challah dough recipe with a not-particularly-kosher pork shoulder, marinated in a home-made char siu sauce with no MSG or food colouring.

Ingredients

Char Siu Marinade

30 g (1 oz) peanut butter
125 ml (

Method

The Marinade

In a bowl, make a slurry by combining the peanut butter with the same amount of soy sauce. Gradually add the rest of the soy sauce. Mix in the rest of the char siu marinade ingredients, finishing with the bicarbonate of soda. For a saucier bun, set aside 2–3 tablespoons of sauce before adding the bicarbonate of soda. You can dress the pork with