This is really kind of the “lazy girl’s” method to do pork belly sliders with steamed buns since I didn’t actually make any of the ingredients – I just cooked them! The whole thing took maybe 20 minutes to do, if that. I’ve been playing around with ideas for a dinner for this Saturday and one item I wanted to make was something akin to the bao sandwiches we had in Vegas last summer.
This is the easy, cheap way to make these little sandwiches. Read on!
I was going to head down to 99 Ranch in search of the buns until I remembered – hey, we have H Mart!
At H Mart they had two different sized buns and I had no idea which would be better for my needs. There was this larger variety with 6 buns for about $2.29. There were also whole wheat version and an oat version of these buns. No instructions on this package.
There is also this smaller steamed “rolls” version. It has 15 rolls and sells for $1.99. There are instructions on the back of this package!
You barely need instructions, but it was still nice to have since I’ve never used these before. I steamed one larger bun and three of the smaller rolls. I like how the rolls have a little pattern on them – so cute! I steamed these for about 15 minutes. The package for the smaller buns says to steam them for 15-20 minutes – probably on the longer side if they’re straight out of the freezer.
This turned out to the be perfect opportunity to finally try some of the marinated meats they have in the back corner of H Mart. There’s a young lady who sort of hangs around by the price labeling machine to help assist you with your meats. Some people just go right by and bypass her to get their own meat, while other people (like me!) who wait and just have her do it. She looked kind of sad that other people were forsaking her. They have marinated beef, chicken and pork all ranging in different prices and cuts. I choose the marinated pork belly. This was 3 slices of pork belly.
I simply pan fried the pork in a little canola oil. The meat is pretty thin so it didn’t take too long to cook – about 3-4 minutes per side.
I was so excited to eat that I kind of forgot to take pictures… I gave two of the smaller ones to each of my folks and I was halfway through eating the last one when I realized I didn’t take a photo. D’oh!
The marinated pork belly turned out to be tender and quite soft. There are fatty bits in there – but that just means more flavor in my book. The marinate made the pork belly a little tiny bit spicy and also sweet at the same time. It was super flavorful and I really didn’t miss having a sauce on here – it almost acted like a sauce by it’s own right. The steamed bun was so soft, pillowy and delicious. There’s a nice chew to the bread and it’s got a little bit of a sweetness to it. A perfect pairing!
I’m going to use the smaller steamed rolls to make mini pork belly sliders for this weekend – and I’m going to not be a cheater and marinate my own pork this time. We’ll see how it turns out!
Oh I love this dish 🙂 How does the marinated meats from H Mart compare with Zion? I tend to find Zion’s marinade a bit too salty.
HI Jinxi! I haven’t tried the ones from Zion (I haven’t been there in forever) but the one I tried from H Mart was not very salty. It was a tad spicy and a touch of sweet. I’m looking forward to trying the other ones!
I’ve been eyeing the marinated meats at the back of H Mart and wondered how they were. The pork looks good but I think I need to have a sampler pack of each just to try. I didn’t know how easy the buns were to heat up!
If you just buy a little bit of each marinated meat, you’d have a lot for a fairly reasonable price! That’d be fun experiment, too, with different breads to use to fill and make sandwiches with. The buns are super easy to use – and they’re so soft and delicious! It’s crazy how easy it was.
Awww yeah, little bits of fat = deliciousness!
Pre-marinated meat is the best! I haven’t bought meat at H-Mart (yet) but at Zion, we used to like buying their marinated bulgogi and kalbi ribs… Pork belly is a meat we need to try more of!
PS
Love that plate with the mod green design! I recall seeing it in previous posts. 🙂
Pork belly is the best! I love it so so much. My plates are from Target – those little plastic ones that they rotate throughout the year. I have four different patterned ones, I love buying them.