PAG's Pulled Pork With Steamed Bao Buns

Finally time to christen the Ikea pressure cooker I got a couple of weeks ago, with pulled pork being its maiden voyage. First off, defrosted a pork shoulder overnight, then got a marinade ready. This was made up with apple cider vinegar, soft brown sugar, tomato ketchup, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika, ground cumin, and garlic and onion powders.

https://i.imgur.com/E7zRLov.jpg

All the ingredients mixed together, and the pork fully coated before going in the fridge for 24 hours.

https://i.imgur.com/b5NVtQS.jpg

Another first for me this morning, making Bao buns. Flour, yeast, caster sugar, rice vinegar, sunflower oil and milk mixed together to form a ragged dough.

https://i.imgur.com/N3jcZFU.jpg


Turned onto a lightly floured surface and kneaded by hand for about 10 minutes until smooth, then into a lightly oiled bowl to prove for an hour or so.

https://i.imgur.com/ViVGmLi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YwmkRcR.jpg

Tipped onto a clean surface, flattened then sprinkled with a spoon of baking powder before another 5 minutes of hand kneading.

https://i.imgur.com/muGsrnN.jpg

Roughly divided into 12 pieces, rolled into balls and left to sit for a couple of minutes.

https://i.imgur.com/BoPfBU0.jpg

Time to flash up the pressure cooker. The pork and marinade goes in, followed by around 450 ml of apple juice. Should take about an hour or so.

https://i.imgur.com/5PJuRSF.jpg

The buns are shaped into ovals, and the tops brushed with oil to stop them sticking together when folded in half. They were covered with tea towels and left for a second prove of an hour.

https://i.imgur.com/kjJQ52Y.jpg

Whilst the cooker was depressurising, steamed the buns in batches of 6, 3 in each of the two levels. Once the pork was rested, pulled apart in a tray before going back in the cooker to be stirred into what was a thick sauce. Also had made some picked carrot and mooli (Asian radish) a couple of days ago to go with the pork.

https://i.imgur.com/veZt9kM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/i0avbck.jpg

The buns are actually very good, being fine and light. They also freeze quite well, just need to be defrosted and back in a steamer for a couple of minutes.

https://i.imgur.com/55HMuGu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vlR06OK.jpg

M'Sahib had hers with the pickled veg, some guacamole I'd made this morning, and grilled tofu.

https://i.imgur.com/CUztqED.jpg

^ Looks very tasty, i'm a pressure cooker convert.

That looks great!

Here’s me waiting to see how you stuffed those bao and steamed them. I think you cheated. :)

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Originally Posted by malmomike77

i'm a pressure cooker convert.

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Get a ninja foodi it is an air fryer/pressure cooker/slow cooker/dehydrater etc. Killer piece of kit.

The 22nd was Dragon Boat Day, baozi are the traditional snack. Or was that just coincidental?

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Originally Posted by Shutree

The 22nd was Dragon Boat Day, baozi are the traditional snack.

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Zongzi, surely. Unless my fluent Chinese is letting me down. Which it isn't. :)

Very nice PAG.

We use pineapple juice instead of apple because. Well, google will spell it better than me. :)

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Bromelain is a type of enzyme called a proteolytic enzyme. It is found in pineapple juice and in the pineapple stem. An enzyme in it called bromelain that softens the muscle fibers. The bromelain mixes with the protein to break down the fibers, softening the meat perfectly.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Edmond

Zongzi, surely. Unless my fluent Chinese is letting me down. Which it isn't. :)

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You are quite right. :sorry1:

Zongzi 粽子 for Dragon Boat Day. I erred, it being Friday after 5pm - time to stop posting for the day.

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Originally Posted by Shutree

You are quite right.

Zongzi 粽子

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I prefer Baozi, to be honest... and by a big, big margin. :)

粽子 aren't my kinda thing.

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Originally Posted by misskit

That looks great!

Here’s me waiting to see how you stuffed those bao and steamed them. I think you cheated. :)

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:) No, not cheated. Used different recipes for the pork and the buns, though this one is pretty close to what I did:

Asian BBQ Pulled Pork Buns - Garlic & Zest

Having now made bao, and I enjoy the stuffed variety for breakfast, I'll next have a go at making some stuffed bao, probably vegetarian themed so M'Sahib can partake.

I've never seen apple juice used before, I have always used either orange or pineapple juice. Did the apple juice change the general outcome?

Apple juice has enzymes also, so will still work to soften the meat. If you are not careful with pineapple juice you can overdo it and turn the pulled pork into a meat slurry.

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Originally Posted by DrWilly

Apple juice has enzymes also

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Of course. Every fruit, vegetable, and their juices have enzymes.

Different fruits (and their juices) have different enzymes. Different enzymes do different things.

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Originally Posted by DrWilly

If you are not careful with pineapple juice you can overdo it and turn the pulled pork into a meat slurry.

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Actually, the evaporation point of pineapple juice is quite a bit lower than that of apple juice, so it's safer if, in your case, you don't know what you're doing.

@topper - re: use of apple/ apple juice, yes I've used it to make bulgogi (Korean, barbecue type thingy). I watched a Korean lady on YT - she did it with pear (grated it & mixed it with the beef), but that pear is native to Korea and isn't available in PH. I used an apple instead - it went well.

@PAG - that looks great! I think that's called "bao bahn" in Vietnam. In PH, we call it "cua pao". The closed round bun thingy, we call it siopao. I think it's called sieu pao(?), xi pao (?) in some Chinese dialect/ language and that's where the Filipino term came from. It was brought over to PH by Chinese immigrants from the 1800s and is a common snack in PH - you'll find it everywhere.

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Originally Posted by Topper

I've never seen apple juice used before, I have always used either orange or pineapple juice. Did the apple juice change the general outcome?

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Not had the other options sufficiently to be able to constructively comment. I would say that apple (as in sauce) is a natural side to pork, and in this instance gave a pleasant background flavour. Also during the cooking, the pressure cooker lets off a very small amount of steam which of course will smell according to the contents. For an hour the house had this apple aroma which was great.

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Originally Posted by PAG

the pressure cooker lets off a very small amount of steam which of course will smell according to the contents. For an hour the house had this apple aroma which was great.

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Nice.

How long was the cooking time in the pressure cooker?

I'll probably pick one up for the kitchen, cheers.

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Originally Posted by Edmond

Nice.

How long was the cooking time in the pressure cooker?

I'll probably pick one up for the kitchen, cheers.

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About an hour (recipe called for 50 minutes).

Nice. :yup:

@edmond - a pressure cooker is great. My mom had one when I was younger. Due to age, it's not wprking/ pressurising anymore. The rubber thingy on the lid has become loose & doesn't seal/ lock the steam or pressure. She didn't buy a new one since her kids have moved out & she doesn't feel the need to cook huge or elaborate meals.

I also didn't buy one since I don't have the need for elaborate meals. Also, that thing is heavy & hard to wash! :)

Yes, we had one growing up. Mainly brought out for cabbage, ham and potatoes iirc.


Thus, I lived on a diet of San Marco pizzas and McCain Micro-chips for ohh, around 14 years.

Nice looking buns, PAG.

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Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Nice looking buns, PAG.

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I'm sure he's heard that before....

The previous batch of pulled pork was finished off for lunch yesterday, but a couple of kilos of pork shoulder was obtained by M'Sahib so a marinade made and in the fridge overnight.

https://i.imgur.com/rX0gZ4u.jpg

Bowing to LouLou's extensive knowledge and experience, I went for pineapple juice instead of apple this time.

https://i.imgur.com/yn4YO6n.jpg

Another deviation, last time I used a recipe for a 1kg shoulder, 50 minutes in the pressure cooker. Because the meat actually weighed 1.5kg, I increased the pressure cooker time by 50%. This time, even though the meat weighed nearly 2kg (212 baht from Makro!!!), I kept the time to 50 minutes just to see the result. Astoundingly good! The meat, when removed from the cooker and rested for 5 minutes, just fell apart with the forks it was so tender.

https://i.imgur.com/RL6NQuC.jpg

Meanwhile, brought the sauce that remained in the cooker to a simmer for about 15 minutes to get nice and syrupy.

https://i.imgur.com/wPWBSE5.jpg

Before putting the meat back in the cooker and mixing all together. Definitely got a winner here, and will be my go to method in future. 50 minutes in a pressure cooker instead of many hours on a stove top or in an oven. All this will be split and into the freezer.

https://i.imgur.com/oQQHTj4.jpg

Good man good man.


What pressure cooker did you buy again? :) Asking for Chitty.