Sticky five-spice pork belly with ginger & plums

Method 1

Ingredients

900g-1kg pork belly slices

thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated

3 garlic cloves, grated or crushed

1½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder

50ml soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp light brown soft sugar

2 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine, rice wine vinegar or dry sherry

2 star anise

6 plums, halved and stoned

6 spring onions, cut into 3cm pieces

coriander leaves, to serve

cooked rice and stir-fried greens, to serve

STEP 1

Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Lay the pork belly slices in a single layer in a large roasting tin. Combine the ginger, garlic, five-spice powder, soy sauce, honey, sugar and rice wine, and pour the mixture over the pork, turning the pieces until well-coated. Scatter in the star anise, then cover the tin with foil and roast for 1 hr.

STEP 2

Remove the foil, scatter over the spring onions and nestle the plums in the tin, cut-side up. Spoon some of the sauce over the pork, onions and plums, and return to the oven for 30 mins.

STEP 3

Remove the tin from the oven. Turn the pork slices over using tongs. If the spring onions are starting to catch, push them under the pork slices. Turn the heat up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and roast for another 15 mins, or until the pork is tender and caramelised – don’t worry if it chars slightly, as this will add flavour. Scatter over the coriander leaves and serve with rice and stir-fried greens, with the sauce from the tin spooned over.

Method 2

Ingredients:

- 1.5kg pork belly, skin on

- 1 tsp five-spice powder

- Salt and pepper

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 4 tbsp honey

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated

- 2 star anise

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 3 tbsp oyster sauce

- 300ml chicken stock

- 8 ripe plums, halved and pitted

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

2. Score the pork belly skin with a sharp knife, making shallow cuts. Rub the five-spice powder, salt, and pepper into the skin.

3. Place the pork belly in a roasting tin and roast in the oven for 2 hours until the skin is crispy.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick, and oyster sauce.

5. Remove the pork belly from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 200°C.

6. Pour the sauce mixture over the pork belly and add the chicken stock to the roasting tin.

7. Return the pork belly to the oven and roast for another 30 minutes, basting occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.

8. Add the plum halves to the roasting tin and roast for an additional 10 minutes until the plums are soft.

9. Remove the pork belly and plums from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

10. Serve the sticky five-spice pork belly with the ginger and plums, and enjoy!

Comments

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