Ingredients Print

Check off ingredients as you go

Fills 20 baos

For the filling

• 4 whole goose legs (about 1.5 kg / 3.3 lb)
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 slice (2-3 cm / 1 inch) fresh ginger
• 2 star anise
• 1 generous pinch five-spice powder (optional)
• 1 pinch Sichuan pepper (optional)
• 1 Tbsp honey or light brown sugar
• 1 small glass (150 ml / ⅔ cup) water
• 1/2 glass (100 ml / ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp) soy sauce (or ponzu sauce)
• 1/2 glass (60 ml / ¼ cup) mirin (or rice wine)

To serve

• 1 small bunch fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
• 2 scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced
• 1-2 red chili peppers, thinly sliced
• Napa 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!

Count on 2 baos per person as a starter, or 4-5 if you’re serving them as a main course.

Making the bao buns

Start by making the bao buns. Head over to the basic recipe for how to make them.

Bao buns ready? Let’s move on.

Making the filling

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

Whatever you do, don’t throw that fat away: it keeps for months in the fridge and you can use it in other recipes, like Sarladaise-style sautéed potatoes (potatoes fried in goose fat, a southwest France classic). It’s a treat!

2. Put the legs back in, add the garlic, ginger and star anise, and cook for about 5 more minutes; you should start to smell the spices. Pour in the mirin (or rice wine) and the soy sauce. Bring to a boil, add the water and the 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 ladlefuls of the strained broth and return them to the pot with the shredded goose. Cook uncovered for another 10 minutes or so, then turn off the heat.

Assembling the gua baos

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

If you’d like to add a quick sauce instead of the chili slices… Blend 2 chili peppers with 2 chopped cloves garlic, 1 scallion, 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil.

Ready to eat!

Tips and variations

• The shredded goose can be made the day before; it’s even better the next day!
• Frozen goose legs turn up fairly regularly in Israeli supermarkets, but you can absolutely swap the goose for duck, chicken or even beef, shredded the same way.
• For a vegetarian version, I recommend smoked tofu, or shiitake or portobello mushrooms, grilled first or dipped in tempura batter.
• The baos freeze very well, unfilled, once cooked! Just reheat them in the microwave or steam them for 3 minutes.

If you enjoy making and filling delicious little buns, you should love Tunisian fricassés (little fried tuna sandwiches):