Caramel Pork Belly
I’m almost officially back, not quite yet though. But I couldn’t NOT blog for another week, I have had quite a bit of withdrawal symptoms and thus decided to share with you my version of Alvin from MasterChef Australia’s Caramel Pork.
When I saw Alvin making it during this last season, I just knew I had to make it. I have, along with the rest of the country, fallen very deeply in love with pork belly over the last year or so and the thought of it being drenched in a sweet and fragrant sauce, served with Jasmine rice gets me salivating every time…every single time!
I didn’t follow a recipe with this, just my own nose and palate. To soften the pork I poached it in a aromatic stock filled with spices and vegetables for a few hours. If you want to make this over a few days, I suggest you poach the pork and then let it cool in the broth, pop it into the fridge and then continue with the recipe the next day.
I served this with steamed Jasmine Rice and sugar snap peas and it was all gobbled up in a matter of minutes!
Click here for Jan Tripepi’s version of Caramel PorkÂ
Serves 4
For the poaching
1kg pork belly
1.5 liters chicken/vegetable stock
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1/2 cup fish sauce
2 onions, quartered
6 garlic cloves
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole chillies, split in half
1 cup sugar
For the “Caramel”
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
1/3 cup oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 tsp dried chilli, crushed (this amount makes it quite spicy, adjust to your own taste)
salt to taste
For serving
steamed jasmine rice
steamed sugar snap peas
fresh coriander
- Combine all the poaching ingredients in a large pot and allow to simmer gently for 2-3 hours until the pork is soft but not falling apart.
- Drain the pork and keep 2 cups of the broth. Cut the pork into bite sized cubes.
- In a wok, fry the pork in canola oil/peanut oil for 5 minutes. (be careful at this stage, the pork has a tendency to pop and hiss at you)
- Add the reserved broth and all the ‘caramel’ ingredients and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season to taste.
- Serve with jasmine rice, sugar snap peas and fresh coriander.
Aww it breaks my heart that you took the time to cook something nice and it was “gobbled up in a matter of minutes.” Hopefully your family will learn to slow down and take the time to really appreciate what they have in front of them. It looks so delicious!
I don’t mind the gobbling at all, as long as they enjoy it. 😉