Reddit reviews Japanese Bonito Flakes 2.82 Ounces

Hey guys! This is my first post to this subreddit. I made these today for my SO. I had had the Bao flour for a while, but I was too intimidated. I was wrong though! It was super easy dough to work with!

Here's the recipe.

Filling:

• Pork Shoulder
  
• Soy Sauce
  
• Mirin
  
• Ponzu
  
• Green Onions
  
• Pickled Carrots/Cabbage (whatever you like)
  
• Cucumber
  
• Kewpie Mayo
  
  Bao Buns:
  
  
• Bao Flour (This packet makes 18 buns)
  
• 1 Cup Milk
  
• 1 Cup Sugar
  
• 1 TBL Sesame Oil
  
• Canola oil for frying
  
  Sauce:
  
  
• water
  
• 1/2 cup of soy sauce
  
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  
• Splash of Mirin
  
• Splash of Ponzu
  
• 2 tsp Sempio Hot Pepper Paste
  
• pickled ginger
  
• 2 cloves of Garlic (fine chop)
  
• Pinch of Bonito flakes..
  
  First.
  You're going to need to get a good cut of pork shoulder. Then, brown it on all sides before putting it in your slow cooker. I slow cooked it for 12-hours on low in a mixture of stock, soy sauce and brown sugar (did this to taste).
  In hindsight, I should have only cooked the pork shoulder for two hours on high. The shoulder fell apart by just poking it. When reheating it with the sauce, the meat absolutely disintegrated. It still tasted great, but it lacked that juicy meaty flavor that I would have gotten if I had cooked it a little less. Keep this in mind if you use this method. After it cooked, I pulled it and I set it aside for filling later.
  
  Second.
  
  While your pork is cooking in the slow cooker, get to making your bun dough. I used this flour I got from my local asian mart. The recipe on the package said to combine the Bao flour with a 1 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of sugar and last your sesame oil. After all that is combined, you're going to want to knead the dough like bread for at least 10 minutes. I made sure that I had a lot of elastic gluten built up (test this by pressing your finger into the dough, it should spring back quickly).
  
  Rest the dough for 30 minutes at room temperature, this relaxes the dough, and makes it easier to form into buns. Make sure that you cover the dough with a damp paper cloth or wax paper--you don't want your dough to dry out.
  
  Third.
  
  After resting, you're going to steam your buns. I used a proper wooden steaming basket. Flatten into a circle about 3 inches in diameter, and fold onto itself. It should look like this when you're done.. Steam these suckers on some parchment paper for 15 minutes over a boil and they'll puff right up. If you want your bun to be whiter, add some vinegar to the water.
  
  Fourth.
  
  While the buns are in the steamer, start making your sauce for your meat. I'm sorry I don't have a recipe for this, I cook to taste. I added roughly added all the ingredients above and reduced it over medium to a glaze. My aim was to caramelize the sugar in the sauce while still paying attention to the sodium level making sure that it wasn't too salty from the soy sauce. When it was the consistency of covering the back of a spoon, I added back in my reserved meat and warmed it.
  
  Fifth.
  
  While your buns are almost done, heat some canola oil on HIGH heat. Don't be afraid to add a lot of oil, these suckers only take about 10-20 seconds total if you get the amount of oil and heat right. When your buns are done, put them in your canola pan, and be very attentive. When they're browned on both sides, make sure you set them aside on an angle so that the top and the bottom dry and don't become soggy.
  
  Sixth.
  
  Cut those buns open with your knife! Add whatever condiments you'd like! I added kewpie mayo, and all the good stuff above. I think they'd also go great with some fresh jalapeños, lime and cilantro. The dough is naturally a bit sweet so it compliments acid, fat and spice.
  
  I hope some of you try it at home--the buns were way easier than I anticipated. You could even make the dough before hand and make a whole bunch of small tasters for a party appetizer.
  
  It's also a great way to use up left over meat quickly. I'm saving the dough and the pork for my bento box this week. :)

Yeah, I tend to splurge a little when I buy the pre-shaved too. I hate those individual 5g packets, they're stale and taste like nothing. I don't buy like the $15 premium stuff but a 100g bag of large flakes runs me about 8 dollars at my local Japanese grocery and lasts me for about 2 weeks I think.

ETA: Actually the bag I have at home says 400g for $8, so there you go.

a good pinch of bonito flakes into a quart of chicken stock as it is reheating, along with a teaspoon of Montreal Chicken Spice

Let that steep for 30 mins or so

I'm usually boiling the pasta noodles / wontons / par cooking the veg in the stock during this time.

you'll need to strain it as you put it into the bowl but definitely worth a try at some point.

once in the bowl, just a few drops of Sesame Seed oil to finish it off takes it to a whole other level.

also, if you have cats, they usually will go nuts for the Bonito flakes as well

Here are the items i found that i cant get local. Any good/bad items or alternate options you would suggest?

> Mirin

Kikkoman Aji-Mirin

>Dashi

Ajinomoto - Hon Dashi

>Miso Paste

Shiro Miso Paste

>Gochujang

Sunchang Gochujang

>Kombu/Wakame/Nori (sea weed)

Welpac Dashi Kombu

Wel-Pac - Fueru Wakame

Nagai Deluxe Sushi Nori

>Furikake

JFC - Seto Fumi Furikake

>Bonito Flakes

Japanese Bonito Flakes