When we first moved to Hong Kong, one of our all-time favorite fast foods was char siu fun (Chinese bbq pork over rice with a side of ginger sauce – yum!).
This was our first introduction to pork belly and before that I hadn’t heard of it. Well, that’s not strictly accurate. Although I grew up in the country and during my teenage years my parents had a mini hobby farm with pigs and chickens, I never knew bacon was from the pig’s belly. Like most, (I assume) pork came from a pig and unless you’re a butcher that’s about as much of the anatomy I wanted to know about.
Pork belly doesn’t sound like it belongs on a dinner plate but oh how wrong I was. Roasting pork belly results in sumptuous, moist, and tender meat. Ask your butcher to cut to the size you want. Porchetta, an Italian pork roast, is another delicious way to use pork belly.
Serves 4
1.5kg pork belly (skin on)
2 to 3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
carrots
new potatoes
Score the pork belly skin and fat in a criss-cross pattern but don’t cut into the meat.
In a mortar and pestle crush garlic, ground cloves, caraway seeds, chili, and a pinch of sea salt. Mash to a paste. Stir in olive oil and lemon juice – you may need to add a bit more olive oil if rub is too dry. Rub marinade over the pork and marinate at room temperature for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 425f.
Arrange carrots and potatoes in a roasting pan and place the pork on top. Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 340f. Roast for a further 2.5 hours or until the pork is tender and cooked through, and the skin is crisp. Rest the pork belly 10 to 15 minutes, then slice and serve with the roasted carrots and potatoes.
The Culinary Chase’s Note: If you have any leftovers, the meat is lovely chopped up in a ragù, in fajitas, fried rice, or shred it to make a pulled pork sandwich. Enjoy!
- 1.5kg pork belly (skin on)
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- pinch of ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- carrots
- new potatoes
- Score the pork belly skin and fat in a criss-cross pattern but don’t cut into the meat.
- In a mortar and pestle crush garlic, ground cloves, caraway seeds, chilli, and a pinch of sea salt. Mash to a paste. Stir in olive oil and lemon juice – you may need to add a bit more olive oil if rub is too dry. Rub marinade over the pork and stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425f.
- Arrange carrots and potatoes in a roasting pan and place the pork on top. Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 340f. Roast for a further 2.5 hours or until the pork is tender and cooked through, and the skin is crisp. Rest the pork belly, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes, then cut into slices and serve with the roasted carrots and potatoes.
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