Braised Pork Belly

Name: Braised Pork Belly
Ingredients: 1kg whole, bone-in pork belly; braising liquid:; 1 liter chicken stock; peel of 2 oranges; 500 ml (2 cups) soy sauce; 30 ml (2 tablespoons) fresh ginger, finely chopped; 2 star anise; 1 cinnamon stick; 250 ml (1 cup) sugar; Ginger sauce:; 125 ml (1/2 cup) palm sugar; 125 ml (1/2 cup) water; 1 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced; 1 green chillies, deseeded and finely sliced; 60 ml (4 tablespoons) fresh ginger, minced; 120 ml (8 tablespoons) fish sauce; juice of 2 limes

Long, slow braising results in this melt in the mouth delight. I like to serve the pork with steamed bok choi and coconut rice on the side.

Published 1 June 2023

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
Place the pork in a oven dish to fit snugly. Combine all the braising liquid ingredients and stir well. Pour the braising liquid over the pork to cover and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Braise in the oven for 4 hours.
Remove the pork from the liquid and remove the bones. Place the pork in another dish. Place a similar sized dish on top of the pork and weigh it down with an aluminum-covered brick. Cool down and refrigerate for 3 hours or over night.
Remove the pork from the dish and trim the sides of the pork. Cut it into 4 serving portions.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Place the pork skin side down in a roasting dish that has been brushed with vegetable oil. Roast for 10 minutes on both sides until nicely crisp. Remove from the oven, spoon over the ginger sauce and serve with coconut rice and steamed bok choi.
Make the ginger sauce. Dissolve the palm sugar in the water over slow heat. Bring to the boil and simmer until the mixture starts to caramelize. Add the chillies, ginger, fish sauce and lime juice and cook slowly for 3 more minutes.