When North 53 got on board for Alberta Pork’s June is Pork Month in Edmonton, rather than go all complicated, they decided to share one of their chef’s comfort dishes for the pork-loving masses.
Chef Joshua Dissanayake grew up eating his mom’s Filipino style pork buns; they were so popular among his friends at school that he used to trade them for other items from their lunch boxes. Today, Chef Dissanayake is baking up the homemade pork bun from his childhood in the North 53 kitchen.
Even though he thinks the way his mom makes them is still the best, Chef Dissanayake shared a localized version of Alberta Pork Buns with us. The pork buns made an appearance shortly before pork month officially launched and I’ve heard they sold out on more than one occasion. Hopefully this simple yet tasty bun featuring ground pork will make a regular appearance on their menu. You never know – you could tweet Chef Joshua Dissanayake or North 53 with your pork bun request… and they may just bake your pork bun dreams come true.
Alberta Pork Buns
Recipe courtesy of Joshua Dissanayake, North 53
Filling
500g ground Alberta pork
1 potato, finely chopped
½ large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp soy sauce
lemon juice to taste
salt & Pepper to taste
oyster sauce to taste
Fry garlic, onions, pork (delete Alberta). Add potato, lemon juice, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Add water, let simmer. Add oyster sauce, let cook until almost dry.
Dough
1 cup Room temperature water
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup oil
¼ cup 2% Milk
1½ Eggs
4 cups flour
½ tsp salt
Stir sugar into water until it dissolves. Add yeast, stir quickly. Let sit for 10 minutes (A). Mix oil, milk and eggs until well blended then set aside (B). Blend flour and salt and set aside (C).
Mix A and B together. Add C slowly and stir until smooth. Place on flour covered surface and knead for 10 minutes. Place into lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and towel. Let rise for 90 minutes at room temperature. Divide into golf ball sized portions. Let rise for 45 minutes.
Stuff meat mixture into gold ball sized dough portions. Roll into ball. Brush with 2% milk. Let buns rise until double in size. Bake 30-40 min at 350F.