Sticky pork belly and chat potatoes

In this Chinese recipe, the pork belly is slow-cooked in stock made fragrant with ginger and soy, then the sauce is cooked down until thick and sticky. This dish is designed to be part of a banquet or shared meal.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:40 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 250 g pork belly, rind left on, cut into 2 cm squares
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 spring onions (scallions), left whole
• 2 cm piece ginger, sliced
• 110 g (½ cup) caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Chinese fermented rice wine (huang jiu) (see Note)
• 160 ml (⅔ cup) light soy sauce
• 400 ml chicken stock
• 2 tsp salt
• 6 chat potatoes
• steamed rice, to serve

DRINK (Tea) Iron Buddha — the smoky taste adds to the rich flavours of the pork belly. (Wine) 2009 G.D. Vajra Langhe Rosso — a medium-bodied red with vibrant red berry fruit characters and lingering tannic.

Instructions

Place pork in a saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes or until scum rises to the surface. Drain, rinse to remove scum and drain again. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or large deep frying pan over high heat. Add spring onions and ginger, and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add pork, sugar, wine, soy, stock and salt. Cook for 5 minutes or until pork is almost cooked through. Add potatoes, then reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour or until pork and potatoes are tender. Transfer pork and potatoes to a bowl. Cover and keep warm.

Increase heat to high and cook sauce for 20 minutes or until thick and glossy. Return pork and potatoes to pan and cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve with steamed rice.

Note

• Chinese fermented rice wine is available from Asian food shops.

Also written by Xiang Le Chen. Photography by Derek Swalwell. Tea and wine suggestions by Kaki Wong, Yanan Zhou, Susan Wilks and Oliver Wang.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.