Ingredients

Check off ingredients as you go

• To fill 20 baos

For the filling

• 4 whole goose legs (about 1.5kg/3.3 lbs)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• one 2-3 cm (1 inch) slice of fresh ginger
• 2 star anise
• 1 generous pinch of 5-spice powder (optional)
• 1 pinch of Sichuan pepper (optional)
• 1 tbsp honey or brown sugar
• 1 small glass of water
• 1/2 glass of soy sauce (or ponzu sauce)
• 1/2 glass of mirin 60g (or rice wine)
• To serve
• 1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1-2 red chili peppers, thinly sliced
• Chinese cabbage or cucumber cut into small pieces and pickled
• 4 tbsp roasted peanuts (unsalted), coarsely chopped or ground

If you change the number of serving, consider adjusting cooking times!

You’ll generally want 2 baos per person as an appetizer and 4-5 if serving as a main course.

Preparing the Bao Buns

Start by making the bao buns. I’ll refer you to the basic recipe for preparing the baos.

Your bao buns are ready? Let’s move on.

Preparing the Filling

1. In a Dutch oven or large pot, brown the goose legs skin-side down until they’ve rendered most of their fat. Turn them over to brown the other side, then turn off the heat, remove most of the fat (keep 2 tablespoons) and set aside in a sterilized jar.

Whatever you do, don’t throw away this fat - it keeps for months in the refrigerator and you can use it for other recipes like Sarladaise-style sautéed potatoes, it’s absolutely delicious!

2. Return the legs to the pot, add the garlic, ginger, and star anise, continue cooking for about 5 minutes until you start smelling the spices. Then pour in the mirin (or rice wine) and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, add the water and honey (or sugar). Lower the heat and simmer (covered) for about 40 minutes. Let cool, then shred the goose. Strain the cooking liquid, take 4 ladles of this strained liquid and return it to the pot with the shredded goose. Continue cooking uncovered for another 10 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Assembling the Gua Baos

Fill the bao buns with the shredded goose, add the pickled cucumber or cabbage, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, sliced scallions, chili, and peanuts (traditionally, they’re ground with a tablespoon of sugar).

If you want to add a quick sauce instead of the chili slices… Blend 2 chilies with 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 scallion, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp sesame oil.

You’re all set!

Tips and Variations

• The shredded goose can be prepared the day before - it’ll actually taste even better the next day!
• You can fairly regularly find frozen goose legs in Israeli supermarkets, but you can easily replace the goose with duck, chicken, or even beef that you’ll shred.
• For a vegetarian version, I recommend using smoked tofu, shiitake or portobello mushrooms that have been grilled or dipped in tempura batter.
• The baos freeze very well unfilled after cooking! Just reheat them in the microwave or steam for 3 minutes.

If you enjoy making and filling delicious little buns, you’ll love Tunisian fricassés: