I love pork in all it's forms. Is there anything better than pork? I think not. I decided today to make some braised pork belly. I am preparing as I prepare vaca frita which is basically twice cooked beef. This dish has a very South American preparation with decidedly asian flavors. Pork belly is essentially bacon that has not been cured/smoked. For this application we are going to give the pork a dry rub and allow it to sit overnight in the fridge. Followed by a long braise. After the braise it is shredded and mixed with some more aromatics and then fried till crisp. This application produces a taste that really has to be tried (even if it takes a couple of days to produce properly).
Obtain a 1kg peice of pork belly from your butcher.
Dry rub
1/4 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup star anise (whole)
2 tbsp sancho peppers
2 tbsp dried tabgerine peel
10 indenosian long peppers
4 tbsp smoked salt ( I had smoked salt on hand, regular coarse salt would be fine).
Grind all ingredients in a grinder or mortar and pestle.
Slash the fat side of pork in a crosshatch pattern. Not so deep as to go to the meat. Rub with seasoning well all over. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight in fridge. There is not alot of salt in the mix as the braise will be slightly salty and no sense in overdoing it right at the beginning.
The next day remove from frigde and allow to come to room temp. In an oven proof pot large enough to hold in one peice, sear meat fat side down on med heat. This allows for some of the fat to render and build flavor for the next compoinents. Make sure to brown nicely on all sides. Remove from pan to a large plate. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of fat from pan.
Braise
3 carrots rough chop
1 celery rough chop
1 onion rough chop
2 cloves garlic smashed
1 1/2" peice of ginger sliced
2 tbsp coriander seeds
5 star anise
2 tbsp red miso
1 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
4 tbsp honey
1 qt chicken stock
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Add first five ingredients to pot and sautee till golden (med low heat) When nicely colored add aromatics including miso and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with sake and raise heat to medium and reduce by half. Add mirin and honey, cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and pork. Make sure it is covered by 2 inches. Use water for remaining liquid. Bring to the boil on the stove skimming of any foam. Transfer to preheated oven and cook for 3-4 hours. Checking for doneness after 3 hours. It is done when a knife point has no resistance going into the meat.
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly in the braising liquid.
When it is cool enough to handle remove from liquid and and shred removing as much fat as possible.
Braisinf liquid should be returned to stove top and reduced to a syrupy glaze. Test for saltyness as you go and adjust with honey if needed. Strain liquid and reserve.
The shredded meat should be mixed with 1 red onion very thinly sliced. Juice of one lime, 3 green onions sliced on an extreme bias (as thinly as possible), and one small bunch cilantro chopped finley.
Allow the flavors to develop for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
When ready for serving get a non stick pan very hot (smoking)
Add enough oil to almost cover the bottom of a large pan. About 2 1/2 tbsp.
Put pork into pan like a pancake pressing down slightly. Sear on this side for about 1-2 minutes. With a steady hand flip the pancake over and sear other side as well. At this point I use two tongs to tear the pork back into nice crispy peices and add my sauce to the pan coating all the pork evenly.
At this point it is ready to plate. For our application we are using a sushi rice prepared risotto style, and some sauteed chanterelle mushrooms. Some of the sauce was reserved and painted onto the plate between the two elements.
Enjoy
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