Pork belly bao

This type of bao is called gua bao (or one of several other names depending on the region it is from). A slice of glazed pork belly with pickled carrot and daikon and a bit of cilantro inside a folded-over bit of steamed dough. They’re usually fairly small and 2-3 of them make for a good lunch. I had just this one as an appetizer along with some “Drunken Noodles” from a Thai takeout near my office. Bao aren’t typically Thai, but this Thai restaurant has other sort of pan-Asian items on their menu.

Probably not the best version of this sort of bao that I have ever had, but it was perfectly acceptable as an appetizer. My favorite comes from a little mom-and-pop noodle joint in Billerica that we used to go to when we lived in that area.