Ingredients
For the rub:
- 150g sugar
- 100g salt
- 1 pinch five-spice powder
- 1x800g pork belly, skinned and boned
For the glaze:
- 1 litre pork or chicken stock
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 30g fresh ginger
- 1 cardamom pod, split
- 1 tablespoon light soy, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon honey, or to taste
For the pickle:
- 1 granny smith apple
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 cardamom pod
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 200ml red wine vinegar
- 100ml water
- 150g sugar
- 30g thinly sliced pickled ginger and juice
- 30g fresh ginger
For the aioli:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 good splash of white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon
- 750ml rapeseed oil or sunflower oil
- Salt and pepper
- Sriracha, to taste
To serve:
- 8 baps
- 2 baby gem
- 1 handful pickles
- 1 bunch coriander
- 1 bunch spring onion, finely sliced
- 2 chillies, finely sliced
Directions
- Mix the sugar, salt and five-spice together. Rub into the belly. Cover in clingfilm and refrigerate for 8–10 hours.
- Rub off excess sugar and salt. Bake at 250ºC/gas mark 9 for 30-40 minutes until deep brown and almost black at the edges. Reduce heat to 140C/gas mark 1 and continue cooking for another 45 minutes to one hour. The belly should feel pillowy soft when done.
- For the glaze, put stock and spices into a pot. Bring to a boil and reduce by a quarter. Taste the stock before adding the soy, fish sauce and honey as the amount you need will greatly depend on how salty your stock is. Add more of each if necessary. Add the sliced pork.
- Peel and grate the apples and carrots. Put everything else into a pot and bring to a boil, reduce by a quarter. Taste and adjust to your preferred level of sweet and sour. Pour over apple and carrot mix.
- For the aioli, place two yolks, Dijon and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk until well incorporated and foamy. Slowly, in a thin stream, add the oil while constantly whisking, being careful not to go too fast as it could split. If it gets too thick, add a little water at the same temperature. Add your preferred amount of sriracha to desired taste. Season.
- To assemble, split the baps, spread sriracha aioli on each side followed by a bed of baby gem (facing upwards, to act like a bowl to catch the juices), three slices of pork belly from the pot of hot glaze. Top with slightly squeezed pickles, coriander, spring onion and chilli.
Recipe courtesy of Oxmantown.
Photography credit: Harry Weir
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