Ingredients
- (Serves six)
- 2 tsp cloves
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2tsp black peppercorns
- 20g star anise (2-3)
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1.2kg pork belly
- 450ml soy sauce or tamari
- 150ml rice wine vinegar
- large knob fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
- 1 whole head of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 60g brown sugar/maple syrup
- 1.5 litres of water
- 100ml white wine
- Salad
- 1 Chinese cabbage, washed and sliced
- 4 carrots, peeled and grated or made into fine strips using a peeler
- bunch spring onions, chopped
- 1tbsp sesame seeds
You will need a saucepan large enough to boil the pork belly joint in with the water. The first step is to toast the cloves, fennel seeds, peppercorns and star anise in this saucepan, over a medium heat, before adding the rest of the ingredients and then the pork.
Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for our hours. Remove the pork and allow it to cool before removing the skin and any unwanted fat and then pulling the cooked pork into shards for the salad.
Strain the liquid, then in the same pan, reduce it by half in volume until it becomes a thicker sauce. Get your grill on its highest setting and, in a gratin dish, place the shards of pulled pork and pour over a few tablespoons (five or six should do it) of the sauce and grill until crispy. Toss with the salad ingredients and as much or as little of the remaining sauce as you like.
