Step 1

Slice the pork into strips. Roughly 1" thick, 3" tall and 4" in width.

Step 2

With a Tablespoon of oil, fry the pork strips until the color has changed and some fat has been rendered down. About 3 minutes. Remove from pot.

Step 3

In the same pot that the pork was fried, leaving only 1 TBsp of oil, smash the garlic, chili and ginger and add to the pot. Fry for 10 seconds then add the sugar until it turns slightly brown and caramelized.

Step 4

Add the pork back followed by two cups of soy sauce. Be careful the sauce might splatter. Give it a good stir and add enough water to cover the pork.

Step 5

Add the star anise and bring the pot to a boil then turn the heat down to low. Simmer the pork until soft and tender. 30 minutes to 1 hour. I usually let it simmer until all my other ingredients are ready.

Step 6

Mix all the dry ingredient and oil in a mixing bowl.

Step 7

Add 3/4C of water and mix with a fork until flaky looking.

Step 8

Knead with your hands until the dough is soft and smooth. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes. (while you prep for the toppings!)

Step 9

After 20 minutes, punch the dough down and divide them into 8 even pieces. Roll each piece out into an oval that's roughly 5" in length. Brush the surface with vegetable oil then fold them in half so they don't stick after steaming.

Step 10

Place the buns 1.5" apart from each other on a steam rack with steam liners and steam on high heat, starting from cold water for about 10 minutes or until cooked. Leave a small crack in the pot while steaming and let the buns sit in the steamer for 5 minutes to cool down slightly before opening the lid so the buns don't collapse.

Step 11

Take the mustard green out of the package, discard the liquid and dice the vegetable. Finely chop the chili.

Step 12

Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil, add the minced garlic and chili, fry for 10 seconds until fragrant.

Step 13

Add the diced pickled mustard green, stir-fry until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add 1 TBsp sugar and remove from the pan.

Step 14

Grind 2C of raw peanuts into powder

Step 15

In a dry pan, over medium heat, roast the peanut powder until slightly golden and fragrant. Remove from the pan and let cool.

Step 16

After the powder had cooled, add the sugar and mix well.

Step 17

To assemble the gua bao, simply open the steamed bun and add a slice of pork top it with pickled mustard green, peanut powder, and cilantro!