Pulled Pork with Bao Buns

Pulled Pork with Bao Buns

Here we go – slow cooked, pulled pork. This is the kind of dish a Biroix Dutch Oven was made for!

Rich, saucy, flavoursome and fall-off-the-bone meat… cushioned between impossibly soft bao buns. You hankering for some yet? This dish is sure to wow guests and satisfy even the fussiest child. (especially in our brightly coloured cast iron!) Bao buns are soft, pillowy clouds of goodness originating from China. Possibly China’s best export? Maybe we’re a little biased… if you’re interested in the origin of China’s Bao buns then check out the history here.


What you need – Pulled Pork:

  • 2 kg piece of pork (leg or shoulder)
  • 1 cup of hoisin sauce 
  • 2 onions, peeled and cut into a large chunks 
  • 4 tablespoons of soy sauce 
  • 2 tablespoons of honey 
  • 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated on the microplane
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced 
  • 3 cups of beef stock
What you need – To Serve:
  • ½ red onion, sliced  
  • 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of white sugar 
  • ½ cup of coriander leaves 
  • 8 bao buns 
  • 1 carrot, julienned or grated 
  • ½ cucumber, julienned or sliced  
  • ¼ cup of mint leaves, sliced 
  • 1 red chilli, sliced 
  • Kewpie mayo 
  • Hoisin sauce


How to make – Pulled Pork:

  • Start with the pulled pork. Preheat oven to 150°C fan bake. 
  • Place all ingredients for the pulled pork - except the pork - in your Biroix Dutch oven and stir well.
  • Now add the pork, making sure all the meat is coated with the sauce. 
  • Put the lid on and cook in the oven for 4-8 hours. Check every hour, and baste with the sauce. You’ll know it’s cooked when it is easy to pull apart with a fork - falling apart.

  • Once cooked, remove the meat from the liquid. You can decide whether to strain the liquid or not.

  • Pour the liquid back in the Biroix Dutch Oven, place over a medium heat and reduce the sauce. This can take between 20 – 40 minutes. It will reduce by about a third. 
  • Once cool enough to handle, ‘pull’ the pork using two forks. Discard any fat, gristle or bone. 
  • Once the sauce has reduced nicely, add the pork back into the sauce.


How to serve :

  • Pickle the red onion by placing in a bowl with red wine vinegar and sugar. 
  • Steam the buns as per packet instructions, then spread with hoisin sauce and Kewpie mayo.
  • Place some pork in the middle.
  • Add cucumber, carrot, red onion, coriander, mint and red chilli.

This recipe was made especially for Biroix by the talented taste Queen - The MacPherson Diaries