Caramel Pork Belly

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!

Caramel Pork Belly

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 Pork 

Caramel Pork Belly

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

  1. 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.
  2. Drain the pork and keep 2 cups of the broth. Cut the pork into bite sized cubes.
  3. 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)
  4. Add the reserved broth and all the ‘caramel’ ingredients and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season to taste.
  5. Serve with jasmine rice, sugar snap peas and fresh coriander.