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Celebrate Asian Heritage Month with this melt-in-your-mouth dish from Straight and Marrow

The pork itself takes a little bit of prep work, but the end result is amazingly moist, flavourful and totally worth it.

INGREDIENTS

  • 800 g rind-off pork belly
  • 6 cups chicken stock

BRINE

  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 7 cups water
  • 1/8 cup honey
  • 3 tbsp pickling spice

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Heat up all the brine ingredients in a pot and cool before adding the pork belly. Brine the pork belly in the fridge overnight.
  2. Rinse off the brine and dry the pork belly with a paper towel.
  3. Using the roasting pan that you will be braising the belly in, sear the pork skin side down. When a nice golden brown, flip it over and add 1/8 cup of the brine and the chicken stock.
  4. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 3 hours at 325 F.
  5. Make sure the belly is tender with a skewer, looking for little resistance.
  6. When ready, remove the belly and place on a drip tray to dry off and rest for approximately 30 minutes.

Five-spice Glaze

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 4 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 8 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Whisk all ingredients together.
  2. Cut the pork belly into individual portions.
  3. In a pan on medium heat with a little bit of oil, sear off the portions of belly for about 3 minutes a side. Spoon some of the glaze onto each portion, and baste it while still on the stove. (Note: This can also be done in the oven if desired. Bake the pork belly at 425 for 10 minutes with the glaze spooned over.)

Green Papaya Salad

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 package shredded green papaya (aka cooking papaya, can be found at most Asian grocery stores)
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 50 g toasted almonds

SALAD DRESSING INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 4 tbsp lime juice
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. When dressing is complete, add the shredded green papaya. Garnish the salad with picked cilantro and almonds.

Serves 4 to 6