People's Bao Korean Food | Foggy Bottom, Washington D.C.

The people have spoken, and they want their buns.

At least, that's Peter He's hope. The owner of the new market stand and catering company People's Bao is heeding the handheld call with his tiny operation of steamed-to-order buns.

He serves soft, doughy buns layered with a precise blend of sauce, crunch and sweetness designed to offset either slow-cooked pork or thick slices of sautéed portobello mushrooms. (A beef-shank option should be available next week.)

Instead of serving sliced, chewy pork belly in his baos, He sources pork shoulder from farms like Groff's Content and Cedarbrook, seasoning it with his personal blend of Korean spices, then roasts the shoulder slowly so that the pieces fall apart inside the bun.

In lieu of the traditional scallions, He adds a handful of arugula for peppery crunch. The blend is topped with balsamic-sautéed onions and plum sauce, with sesame-chili salsa roja added on request.

He offers the buns in fist-size miniatures ($3) or hoagie-size larges ($8), which are big enough to last through both lunch and a midday snack.

Next up, He will mobilize his baos, courtesy of a food truck that will launch this summer.

People's Bao, available at Foggy Bottom farmers' market on Wednesdays (3 to 7 p.m.), I Street NW (between New Hampshire Ave. & 24th St.); peoplesbao.com