The Gua Bao is a Chinese bun that spread mainly in Taiwan, where it was presumably introduced by immigrants from Fuzhou.
➡Typical of Fujian cuisine, consisting of a single piece of steamed bread folded over itself, traditionally containing braised pork belly(char siu), cilantro, sauerkraut, peanuts mixed with sugar, and mustard.
➡Because its shape and filling resemble a tiger’s mouth biting a piece of pork, in Taiwan it is also called ‘tiger bites pig’ (hó-kā-ti).
➡It is eaten like a hamburger, thus earning the names ‘Taiwanese hamburger’ and ‘Taiwanese burger’.
➡The translation of ‘gua bao’ is ‘filled bag’: it is a metaphor for satisfaction of wealth. Therefore, eating gua bao symbolizes good fortune in the coming year and a wallet full of money.
⏺In Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown, Japan, it is called ‘Jiaozhu Mantou’ (角烧まんじゅう), meaning braised pork belly with steamed buns.
⏺The difference with the Char Siu bao is in the filling (only braised pork) and shape.
⏺The difference with Rou Jia Mo is in the pork, here chopped.
⏺The difference with Mantou is that the latter are not filled.
Other bao (bread) fillings:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 10 pieces
- Cooking methods: Steam
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 10.6 oz flour
- 0.85 oz cornstarch (maizena)
- 0.26 oz fresh yeast
- 5 oz water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 lb fresh pork belly
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 scallions
- 3 fresh ginger
- 1 star anise
- to taste ground cinnamon
- to taste pepper
- 3 tablespoons rice wine
- to taste soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- to taste peanuts
- to taste cilantro
- to taste pre-cooked sauerkraut (optional)
- to taste mustard (optional)
- to taste vegetable oil
Steps
Pour the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and yeast dissolved in water into a bowl.
After kneading for at least 10 mins, form a sphere, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise for 2 hours until it doubles in volume.
Create a cylindrical dough and divide it into 10 pieces.
Roll each piece with a rolling pin and shape it into an oval.
Fold each piece over itself and place it in the steamer in a circular way.
Steam for about 45 minutes.
Prepare the filling: add oil, pork belly, garlic, scallion, ginger, pepper, cinnamon, and star anise to a pan.
Add rice wine, soy sauce, and a teaspoon of sugar.
Cook for about 1 hour.
Using a strainer, extract a sauce from the cooking juices, thicken it in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Cut the pork belly into pieces about 2.5 inches.
Chop the peanuts with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
With the bao, create a sort of pocket to fill with: meat, cilantro, sauce, sauerkraut, and mustard (optional). Decorate with peanuts.
Chinese calendar:
In the Chinese calendar each year corresponds to an animal of the Chinese zodiac, following a 12-year cycle.
This year, 2023, is the year of the water rabbit.
