I wonder how Edison felt when he invented the light bulb. Not comparing myself in any way to the man who (stole or) created electric light but I gotta say, it's been pretty high flying here creating one holiday recipe after another. It feels like some sort of legit stimulant going on. I can't help but legit get excited when something photographs nicely or my tasters actually sit with their mouths open (as they are eating, kind of gross actually) because something I make totally rocks!

Wish I could take all the credit, but the truth is, the ingredients really make the dish. Using quality ingredients change the entire face of a dish. So even though my recipe may be good, or even great, that mouth dropping amazement is something you only get from using excellent products. That alone is worth it.

Grow and Behold was kind enough to send me a couple of their items to try out and write recipes for. I know I've already waxed poetic about them in a past post, so there is really no need to repeat myself but damn, their products are legit bar none. I'm not saying good. I'm saying Gooooooddddd!!!!!

A little bit about Top of the Rib: it cooks almost exactly like brisket so low and slow is a really great way to get the meat to break down and release all those excellent flavors! Cooking time will depend on the size of the meat but in general, the 3 lb. is standard and it takes a long time to work its magic so plan ahead. I love that both the bao and the brisket can be frozen ahead of time so though it is a slightly involved process, it can be divided as needed and prepped ahead.

This idea came to me in a dream, where all my best recipe ideas come from. some people have creepy dreams about clowns when I dream I dream of recipes. Not all great ones, mind you. The miso-sake flavored lolly pops- bad call, but I may have been a little too tipsy to know for sure! My mother in law shared her challah recipe with me a while back and since then I have been stretching its limits over the years. I've made babka, burger buns, doughnuts, and pretzels from her dough, which is a basic egg based, sweet (not too, and since I haven't posted it yet, you can use Esty Wolbe's recipe cause it's awesome or your own favorite one! Now, I have made bao buns. It's Molly Yeh's fault really. With her Asian Jewish fusion cuisine like it's a real thing or whatever. Gah, she's so cool I wanna be her so badddd !

Anyway, the fusion of Jewish-Asian cuisine needed to happen like 8 years ago anyway, it's not such a big deal if I help speed along the process. For example, matzo ball pho- that needed to happen last week already. In fact, if you do make it happen, give me a shout out and I'll come try it! (lies, because I probably live too far in the middle of nowhere to get to you)

Bao buns are everything they should be- chewy soft and pillowy but with challah flavor (yassss) then this pulled top of the rib, the legit most Jewish food of 2017 (2015 was sushi, 2016 was anything with truffle ammiright?) with that awesome honey sauce which won’t just make your year sweet it’ll make it SAWEEEEEETTTTTTT!

I’m just saying, if you have somehow found a more awesome recipe for your Challah and honey this Rosh Hashana, I would personally like to see it. Ugh, this makes me sound so egotistical but really, don’t read it like that, I’m just super excited, read it excited-like.

Any new customers of Grow and Behold can use the code coookinginheelss15 for 15% off their order!!! whoopppp!

While I was provided free product for this post, my opinion is my own.

Bao:

1 recipe egg challah dough
Crisco or margarine
1 3 lb Grow and Behold Top of the RIb

Rub:

1 tbsp honey
1 heaping tbsp white/shiro miso
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
3 large cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Basting Sauce

1/3 c sake or white wine
1/4 honey
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
4 cups Chicken Broth
1 tsp white miso
2 whole star anise
2 tbsp corn starch
Serve with mint, sliced scallion, Sriracha, cilantro, and red chili slices

After allowing your challah dough to rise as usual and taking challah, divide your dough into small round balls. they should be smaller than a tennis ball but bigger than a ping pong ball. The smoother they look as balls, the Roll them into thin flat ovals and use a chopstick dipped in Crisco or margarine to mark a line across the center of the oval. This will help it keep its shape.
Fold the dough in half to make a half circle shape. For help, watch this video but skip to 2:40
Continue with the rest of the dough. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes and puff a little
In that time. Prepare a pot a boiling water with a steamer basket or colander on top.
Lay a layer of parchment paper on the bottom of the steamer basket
Add approximately 4 buns at a time in a single layer. Cover and Allow the buns to steam for 10 Minutes. Remove the buns and place on a cooling rack to cool. Continue with the rest of the buns until finished.
At this point, you may freeze the buns in a sealed container or back for up to 3 months
To reheat, place in the oven at a low temperature (200F) and heat the buns in a pan covered with a damp towel. Reheat for about 10-15 minutes or until warm and steamed
For the top of the rib, mix the rub ingredients in a small bowl and rub all over the top of the rib. Season adequately with salt and pepper.
Heat a large high sided skillet or pot with some olive oil. Sear the outside of the top of the rib to create a nice crust, about 5-8 minutes per side. If your top of the rib is particularly large like mine was you may need to work in batches folding it over on itself so that you can get each side adequately seared. This will help keep the top of the rib nice and juicy.
Preheat the oven to 300 F. Fold the top of the rib so that it all fits into the pan. In a bowl, mix the sake, honey, soy sauce miso, whole star anise and sesame oil until uniform. Pour it over the meat and add broth to cover. You can do this in the same pan you seared in if it's high enough to hold the contents. Cover the pan.
Allow it to cook for about 2 hours. Flip the meat and then cook for 1.5 to 2 hours more. The meat will be ready when you can sink your fork into it with no resistance and it tears easily. First the meat will become super tough as it cooks and then relaxes as time goes on. If it's too tough, you have not cooked it long enough.
Remove the meat from the pan and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. Then with two forks or your hands, shred the meat. I like to slice it in half so that the meat shreds are not too long.
With the remaining pan drippings, take about 1/4 cup of the drippings and mix it in a bowl with the corn starch until completely dissolved. Add the corn starch mixture to the pot and whisk to integrate. Heat the mixture on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Toss the meat together with the sauce to coat.
Prepare the buns: Stuff the warm buns with the hot meat mixture. Top with sliced scallion, sesame seeds, cilantro, and mint. Chilies and sriracha may be added to top if desired.
Have a sweet new year!!