Asian style pork belly

Ingredients

2-2.5kg pork belly
750ml ginger ale/beer
3 whole dried chillies
1½ cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
30g fresh ginger
Freshly cracked black pepper
Salt

Sauce

½ onion finely diced
½ small carrot finely diced
1 celery stick finely diced
½ red pepper finely diced (optional)
2 Tbsp cornflour or arrowroot mixed with cold water

Vegetables

12 pieces roasting potato
6 pieces pumpkin
6 pieces kumara
6 pieces carrot
6 pieces parsnip
Oil
Salt and pepper
18 small florets broccoli or any other green vegetables
Apple sauce (optional)

Day 1

Score the skin of the pork belly in 1cm strips.

Season both sides with salt and pepper, rubbing it into the meat, place pork skin side up in a roasting pan 50-65cm deep and only a little bigger than the belly so the liquid covers the belly up to the skin.

Pour over the ginger ale, crush to break up slightly the whole chilies, star anise and cinnamon sticks and scatter on top of the belly, peel and grate the ginger, and add to the top of the belly as well. Cover twice with tinfoil, making sure the edges are well sealed.

Cook at 150°C for 3hrs, remove from oven, make a small tear in the corner of the foil, leave 15 mins to cool, pour off the liquid into a large jug, leave the pork and liquid to cool for a further 30 mins then place in the fridge covered overnight.

Day 2

Approx 1 hour before meal service

Peel and cut the root vegetables into pieces, rub with oil, season with salt and pepper and roast at 170C for 35-40 mins.

Remove chilled pork from tray, place on a large chopping board, trim sides and cut into 6 even sized pieces, put into the pan again and add 1 ½ cups of water, this is now ready to reheat.

For the sauce, remove fat from the liquid reserving 2 tsp, the liquid should now be set as a jelly.

Put the 2 tsp of pork fat into a hot sauce pan, add and fry the finely diced vegetables, then add in the pork liquid, bring to a simmer, thicken slowly with the flour water mixture until a desired consistency is reached. Set aside.

Prepare the broccoli or greens, boil in water with salt and pepper to be ready at the same time as the root vegetables.

When the root vegetables have about 15 mins left, place the pork belly in water uncovered in the oven to reheat.

To serve

Place 2 potatoes and one of each other root vegetables in the centre of the plate, top with a piece of pork, add the greens, drizzle with sauce, apple sauce if desired garnish with herbs.

Recipe and photo kindly supplied by

Chef Craig Rutland
Last Light Lodge
2 Clifden Hwy, Tuatapere
(03) 226 6667