2 tbsp castor sugar
½ tsp salt
125ml (½ cup) warm milk
2 tbsp sunflower oil + extra, to grease
and coat
PICKLED CARROT AND APPLE
2 handfuls coriander leaves + extra,
to serve
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and
thinly sliced
100ml water
60ml (¼ cup) rice vinegar
45g castor sugar
2 tsp salt
HOW TO DO IT
1 For the pulled pork, preheat the oven
to 180°C. Heat the olive oil in a large
non-stick frying pan. Add the chopped
onion, 3 carrots and celery stalks, and
fry over medium heat until soft, about
5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and
star anise, and fry until fragrant, about
1 minute. Pour in the stock and bring to
a boil. Transfer the mixture to a large,
deep, lidded roasting dish. Add the
pork neck and cover the dish with
the lid. Roast in the preheated oven
until the meat is soft and cooked,
about 3 hours.
2 While the meat is roasting, combine
the brown sugar, dry sherry/apple
juice, oyster sauce and Chinese five
spice in a medium bowl. After the pork
neck has been roasting for an hour and
a half, pour the mixture into a medium
saucepan and heat over medium-high
heat, stirring continuously, until the
sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat
and pour ½ the sauce over the pork
neck. Return the meat to the oven and
continue to roast. After about an hour,
pour the remaining ½ of the sauce over
the pork neck. Return to the oven to
roast for another 30 minutes. Remove
from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
Shred the meat using 2 forks, mixing it
into the sauce. Set aside until needed.
3 For the steamed buns, line a baking
tray with baking paper. Set aside until
needed. Combine the lukewarm water
and instant dry yeast in a tall jug. Set
aside to rest while you continue with
the next step.
4 Mix the cake flour, 2 tbsp castor
sugar and ½ tsp salt together in a large
mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre.
Pour the yeast mixture, warm milk and
sunflower oil into the well. Mix until a
smooth dough forms. Turn the dough
out onto a lightly floured work surface
and knead until smooth and elastic,
about 10 minutes. Transfer the dough
to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with
a clean, damp cloth. Rest in a draught-
free place until doubled in size.
5 Once the dough has rested, turn it
out onto a lightly floured work surface
and knead to knock out the air, about
5 minutes. Divide the dough in ½ and
roll each piece out into a 30cm-long
log shape. Cut each log into 4 equal-
sized pieces. Roll each piece to form
a ball. Keep the balls under a clean,
damp cloth while you work. Roughly
mould each ball into an oval shape
about 0,3 – 0,4cm in thickness. Brush
the ovals with sunflower oil, fold them
in half and arrange in the baking tray.Cover with cling film brushed with
sunfloweroil.Setasidetorestina
warm draught-free place until double
in size.
6 Place the buns on a steamer tray and
steam briskly over boiling water until
cooked, about 10 minutes. Remove
from tray and cover with kitchen towel
until ready to serve.
7 For the pickled carrot and apple,
combine the coriander leaves, 2
julienned carrots, spring onions, apple,
100mlwater,ricevinegar,45gcastor
sugarand2tspsaltinalargemixing
bowl. Set aside to pickle until ready
to serve.
8 To serve, tear the buns open to
create pockets in the centre. Stuff the
pockets with spoonfuls of pulled pork,
pickled carrot and apple, and fresh
coriander. Dig in!CHINESE STEAMED BUNS WITH PULLED PORK
AND PICKLED CARROT AND APPLE1 OFFOODANDHOME.CO.ZA APRIL 2019 83RECIPE FEATURE