CHINESE 5 SPICED PORK BELLY
This is a recipe I've been doing on and off for years in one form or another, it initially came about simply because we used to rear our own piggies! And we were for ever coming up with different dishes to use up the abundance of pork!!
There's nothing ground breaking about this recipe, it's just absolutely delicious! And works fantastically well with wonderful Pork Belly
You'll be able to feed 4 people really well with this recipe, it's a fantastic dinner or supper dish
It's definitely well worth leaving the Pork to infuse with all those fantastic flavours overnight
SHOPPING LIST
For the Pork belly
1.5kg piece of boneless pork belly, with rind on
4 tbsp coarse sea salt
2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
2 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 good pinch of chilli flakes
For the pak choi
2 tbsp sunflower oil
6 pak choi, cut into quarters
1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips 4 spring onions, sliced
A good splash of chilli flakes
For the dressing
A piece fresh root ginger, cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 red chillies, thinly sliced, leave the seeds in!!
1 bunch of chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 bunch of chopped fresh mint
3 tbsp palm sugar
A good splash of soy sauce
A good splash of fish sauce
1 lime, juiced
For serving
4 spring onions, sliced thinly
1 red chilli, sliced thinly
Methods
1. To prepare the pork, pierce the rind side of pork with a sharp knife until the skin is covered with fine holes.
2. Bring a kettle of water to a boil and pour the hot water over the rind side of the pork several times. This is best done over a wire rack, Set the pork belly aside.
3. Heat a frying pan until it is hot, then add the salt, pepper, five-spice powder and sugar and fry the mixture for 3 minutes. This brings out the fantastic flavours and aromatic aromas, Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
4. When the mixture is cool enough to handle rub the mix into the belly Pork, ideally I'd now leave to marinade overnight in a fridge uncovered, Alternatively, place the meat on a wire rack set above a roasting tin.
Preheat the oven to 200c 1. Place the pork on a wire rack, rind-side up and roast for 20 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to 140c and continue to roast for 2 and a half hours
3. Remove the meat from the oven and allow the pork to cool.
4. For the pak choi, heat a frying pan or wok if you have one, once hot add all the ingredients and cook for 2-3 minutes. The pak choi should still have a good bite
To make the dressing
place all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz to a rough paste.
To serve
stir the dressing through the pak choi ( for something different you can use green beans, peppers, asparagus etc)
Slice the pork into strips, or chunks, the choice is yours
Arrange the pak choi on warm plates and top with the belly Pork
Garnish with the spring onions and chilli and enjoy