Koah-pau

Koah-pau
A traditional gua bao
CourseSnack, delicacy, main dish, side dish
Place of originChina
Region or stateFujian
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsLotus leaf bread, stewed meat, condiments
Ingredients generally usedRed-cooked pork belly, pickled mustard, coriander, ground peanuts
VariationsFried chicken, fish, eggs, stewed beef, lettuce
Koah-pau
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese割包
Simplified Chinese刈包
Literal meaningcut bun
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinguàbāo
Southern Min
Hokkien POJkoah-pau
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese肉夾包
Simplified Chinese肉夹包
Literal meaningmeat between buns
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinròujiābāo
Japanese name
Kanji角煮饅頭
Transcriptions
Romanizationkakuni manjū
Tagalog name
Tagalogkuwapaw

Koah-pau or gua bao[1] or cuapao[2][3] also known as a pork belly bun,[4] bao,[5][6] or bao bun,[7][8] is a type of lotus leaf bun originating from Fujianese cuisine in China.[9] It is also a popular snack in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Nagasaki Chinatown in Japan.

It consists of a slice of stewed meat and condiments sandwiched between flat steamed bread known as lotus leaf bread (荷葉餅; héyèbǐng). The lotus leaf bread is typically 6–8 centimetres (2.4–3.1 in) in size, semi-circular and flat in form, with a horizontal fold that, when opened, gives the appearance that it has been sliced. The traditional filling for gua bao is a slice of red-cooked pork belly, typically dressed with stir-fried suan cai (pickled mustard greens), coriander, and ground peanuts.[6][10][11]

  1. ^ "Entry #8213 (割包)". 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan]. (in Chinese and Hokkien). Ministry of Education, R.O.C. 2011.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Erway, Cathy (2 April 2014). "Taiwanese Pork Belly Buns (Gua Bao)".
  5. ^ L., Mandy (6 February 2013). "Who Took the "Gua" out of "Bao".
  6. ^ a b Glassberg, Julie (23 February 2010). "Baohaus". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Steamed bao buns". BBC Good Food.
  8. ^ "Simple Bao Bun Recipe". Sorted. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  9. ^ 江韶瑩 (2009). 臺灣民俗文物辭彙類編 (in Chinese). 國史館臺灣文獻館. ISBN 978-986-02-0399-8.
  10. ^ "Gwa-Bao (割包 Braised Pork Wrapped in Steamed Buns)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan). 2011.
  11. ^ Erway, Cathy (2015). The Food of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544303010.