Slow Poached Five Spice Pork Belly
The flavours in this dish are beautiful! Remember to start cooking the day before it is needed. The recipe is by Anna Gare from the show, ‘Best in Australia‘.
1kg boned pork belly (ask for the thicker, meatier end)
2L chicken stock
4 oranges – juice of all and zest of one
1 dessertspoon fish sauce
1/2 cup Ketjap Manis*
1/4 cup rice wine
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 star anise
3 cardamon pods
1 cinnamon quill
1 chilli, sliced
1 dessertspoon sliced garlic
1 dessertspoon sliced ginger
Method
Place all poaching ingredients into a large heavy based saucepan and bring to the boil. Place pork in the pot, with liquid just covering. Put sheet of baking paper over top of pot and then cover with lid. Bake in oven at 160 degrees or simmer on top of stove for about 2 hours, until pork is tender. Remove pork from stock.
Put stock in the fridge overnight so the fat can solidify and be removed. Do this by placing belly on non-stick paper in pan, skin side down. Cover with more non-stick paper and gently weight and put in fridge overnight. This will help compact the pork for when you portion it.
The next day remove any fat from stock and reduce the stock to about 1/2 the liquid. Strain and reserve, as the stock becomes the sauce you serve over the pork. (Sometimes I add a little extra Ketjap Manis at this point if it needs a little more sweetness or salt.)
Cut pork into 5cm squares. Place skin side down in a lightly oiled pan on low to crisp up the skin. Then pop pork skin side up into a 200 degree oven to reheat. Serve with steamed rice and bok choy with a ladle of the reduced sauce.
* Ketjap Manis is an indonesian sweet soy sauce available from the Asian section of supermarkets
Just Wanna Cook! 