Momofuku

For the Bacon, Scallion, and Cream Cheese Stuffing:

1. Cook 3.5 oz bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it's auburn brown and crunchy. Remove it from the pan and chop it into small pieces; set aside. In another pan, set aside the bacon grease (the stuff that leeches out of the meat while it is cooking... yum. Right?)
2. Put 14 oz cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream it on medium speed. Pour in the reserved bacon fat and continue creaming at a lower speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the chopped bacon, chopped bunch of scallions, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoons salt. Continue mixing at a low speed briefly to incorporate the dry ingredients.
3. Scoop the cream cheese mixture onto a sheet pan in 16 even lumps. Freeze until rock hard (about 1 to 3 hours).

For the Mother Dough Bread Buns:

1. Stir together 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer -- do it by hand, using the dough hook like a spoon. Continue stirring by hand as you add 1 3/4 cup water, mixing for 1 minute, until the mixture has come together in a shaggy mess.
2. Engage the bowl and hook and have the machine mix the dough on the lowest speed for 3 minutes, or until the ball of dough is smoother and more cohesive. Then knead for 4 more minutes on the lowest speed. The dough should look like a wet ball and should bounce back softly when prodded.
3. Brush a large bowl with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and transfer the dough ball into it. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough proof at room temperature for 45 minutes.

For the Egg Wash Topping and Putting It Together:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 (F).
2. Punch down and flatten the dough on a smooth, dry countertop. Use a dough cutter to divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Use your fingers to gently stretch each piece of dough out into a mini pizza between 2 and 3 inches wide.
3. Put a frozen cream cheese glob in the center of each dough circle. Bring up the edges of each round and pinch to seal so that the cream cheese plug is completely contained, then gently roll the ball between the palms of your hands to ensure that the bomb has a nice, round, dinner roll-y shape. Arrange the bombs 4 inches apart on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.
4. Whisk 1 egg together with 1/2 teaspoon of water to create the egg wash. Brush a generous coat of this wash on the buns. In a small, separate bowl, stir together 4 teaspoons poppy seeds, 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Sprinkle a heavy, even coating of this mixture all over the bagel bombs.
5. Bake the bagel bombs for 20 - 30 minutes. While in the oven, the bombs will become a deep golden brown and a few may have cream cheese explosions. You can use your fingers to tuck the cream cheese inside, or leave them as is. Continue baking until you see this happen. When they are ready, serve immediately.

This is a new spin on our classic Bo Ssäm recipe. For the cure, we add in Savory Seasoned Salt to give a rounder flavor. Then, on top, we sub in a sweet and spicy glaze made using Chili Crunch. It’s best served for a crowd with lettuce wraps, or rolls, bing bread, more Chili Crunch and your favorite sauces. There’s really no wrong way to eat it. There will probably be leftovers—and this pork shoulder makes for excellent sandwiches the next day.

Put the pork shoulder in a roasting pan. Mix together the granulated sugar, kosher salt, and Savory Seasoned Salt, then rub the mixture into the meat; discard any excess salt-and-sugar mixture. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Heat the oven to 300ºF. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and discard any juices that have accumulated. Put the pork in the oven and cook for 6–7 hours, basting with the rendered fat and pan juices every hour. Place the entire bulb of garlic whole into the roasting pan beside the bo ssäm and allow it to roast 1–2 hours until very soft. Remove and let cool completely.

When cool, squeeze the roasted garlic pieces of the bulb—it should be a paste. Stir in honey, several grinds of black pepper, and 6 tablespoons of Momofuku Chili crunch.

After about 5–6 hours, the meat should start to be tender and yielding. It’s time to begin glazing. Add a few tablespoons of the glaze to the top of the pork every 20 minutes and continue roasting another hour. Depending on your schedule, you can serve the pork right away or let it rest and mellow out at room temperature for up to an hour.

When ready to serve, turn the oven to 500ºF, top with the rest of the glaze and roast until the glaze is glossy and bubbling. Serve immediately with lettuce wraps, rolls, bing bread, and anything you need to make lettuce wraps or sandwiches.

Instructions

1. Rinse the konbu under running water, then combine it with the water in an 8-quart stockpot. Bring the water to a simmer over high heat and turn off the heat. Let steep for 10 minutes.
2. Remove the konbu from the pot and add the shiitakes. Turn the heat back up to high and bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down so the liquid simmers gently. Simmer for 30 minutes, until the mushrooms are plumped and re-hydrated and have lent the broth their color and aroma.
3. Heat the oven to 400°F.
4. Remove the mushrooms from the pot with a spider or slotted spoon. Add the chicken to the pot. Keep the liquid at a gentle simmer, with bubbles lazily and occasionally breaking the surface. Skim and discard any froth, foam, or fat that rises to the surface of the broth while the chicken is simmering, and replenish the water as necessary to keep the chicken covered. After about 1 hour, test the chicken: the meat should pull away from the bones easily. If it doesn’t, simmer until that’s the case and then remove the chicken from the pot with a spider or slotted spoon. (After I let the chicken cool off, I shredded all the meat to save for future use and tossed the bones in the freezer to make a future chicken stock)
5. While the chicken is simmering, put the pork bones on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan and slide them into the oven to brown for an hour; turn them over after about 30 minutes to ensure even browning.
6. Remove the chicken from the pot and add the roasted bones to the broth, along with the bacon. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the broth at a steady simmer; skim the scum and replenish the water as needed. After 45 minutes, fish out the bacon and discard it. Then gently simmer the pork bones for 6 to 7 hours—as much time as your schedule allows. Stop adding water to replenish the pot after hour 5 or so.
7. Add the scallions, onion and carrots to the pot and simmer for the final 45 minutes.
8. Remove and discard the spent bones and vegetables. Pass the broth through a strainer lined with cheesecloth. You can use the broth at this point, or, if you’re making it in advance and want to save on storage space, you can do what Momofuku does: return it to the pot and reduce it by half over high heat, then portion out the concentrated broth into containers. It keeps for a couple of days in the refrigerator and up to a few months in the freezer. When you want to use it, dilute it with an equal measure of water and reheat it on the stove.
9. In either case, finish the broth by seasoning it to taste with taré – or – 2 or 3 tablespoons of combined kosher salt, soy sauce and mirin, per quart. Taste it and add more seasoning to get it right. It should be very seasoned, almost too salty. Under-seasoned broth is a crime. I made a seasoning mix of salt, soy sauce and mirin to season the entire 5 quarts I ended up with, but you may have to add additional seasoning after the broth “sits” overnight.