Chinese Hamburger (Rou Jia Mo)

• 600g -700g pork belly
• 4 garlic cloves
• 6 spring onions
• A 5cm piece of ginger
• A handful of fresh coriander

Spices

• 4 dried chili peppers
• 3 cloves
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick 5 centimeters / 2 inches in length
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cardamom pods
• 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• One small piece of mandarin peel

Braising Liquid

• 5 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 3 tbsp of light soy
• 3 tbsp of dark soy
• 2 tbsp rock sugar / 2x 5cm pieces.
• Water
• Salt to taste

The Bread

• 250 g all-purpose flour, 2 cups
• 110 ml water
• 15g vegetable oil
• 2.5g dried instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking powder

The Meat

• Bruise the garlic cloves, slice the ginger and roughly chop the 4 spring onions and set aside.

• In a large saucepan with boiling water blanch the pieces of pork for 5-6 minutes, drain and set aside.

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the rock sugar and cook until it melts. Add 300ml of water and bring to boil to make sure the sugar is fully dissolved next add the spices, ginger, garlic, spring onions and pork belly.

• Add the braising liquid sauces and top it up with water until the pieces of pork belly are fully covered with the liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 3 hours.

The Bread

• In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, yeast, and salt. Mix together the dry ingredients before adding the vegetable oil and mix well. Start adding the water slowly, whilst kneading the dough. Once the ingredients are well combined transfer the dough to a work surface and knead for 7-8 minutes until you form a uniform dough ball.

• Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes.

• To shape the buns, roll out the dough and split it into 6 pieces. Working with one piece at a time. With both hands, roll it out into a cigar-like shape. Next, using a rolling pin, roll the cylinder/ cigar shape to end up with a longer slightly wider piece of dough. Roll it up into a cylinder (as if you were making cinnamon rolls) tucking the loose end underneath. Place it up, with the tucked loose end touching the table, press down with the palm of your hand and roll out to form a disc of around 10cm. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough.

• In a frying pan on medium heat, place the buns and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, then transfer them to a baking tray and bake them at 180°C for 3 to 4 minutes until their height has doubled.

The Sandwich

• On a chopping board, roughly chop a handful of coriander and spring onions, top it with a piece of pork belly and chop everything together.

• Slice the buns ¾ of the way through and fill them with the chopped meat with coriander and spring onions. Finish off with a tablespoon of the braising liquid inside the sandwich.