Tender and aromatic kong bak is sandwiched in between soft and pillowy lotus steamed buns to make Singapore /Malaysia kong bak baoor also known as gua bao in Taiwan.
Start by making pressure cooker kong bak but do not slice it until you are ready to serve them on that day. Keep them in the braising liquid and refrigerate it. Also make these lotus leaf steamed buns. It's less overwhelming not to do everything on the same day.
Prepare mustard green (suan cai) topping:
Preheat a skillet. Add oil and saute garlic and chili for about 10 seconds. Add the chopped pickled mustard greens for about 2-3 minutes. Add sugar and saute for another 1 minute. Turn off the heat and set aside
Reduce the braising liquid:
If you prepare the day before, you will see a white layer of fat on top and the liquid will be gel-like consistency after you refrigerate the kong bak. Remove the fat layer with a spoon and discard it. Bring it to a boil until the gel turns back into a liquid and remove the pork belly to a chopping board. Lower the heat and let the liquid simmer away for the next 20 minutes or a bit longer until the liquid is reduced and thickened to a syrup consistency. You can make it thicker if you like
On the day you plan to serve kong bak bao:
Slice the pressure cooked pork belly into about 1/2-inch thickness after resting it for 10 minutes. If you want to, you can pan fry the slices of pork belly on a pan without any oil until golden brown. This is optional
How to assemble kong bak bao:
Place one slice of kong bak in between the flat steamed buns. Spoon some of the thickened sauce over the meat. Add some pickled mustard topping, sprinkle of chopped peanuts and few sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves. Serve immediately