Food Sparks: Pork Belly

Pork belly has become increasingly popular in recent years particularly with the new generation of youthful foodies who are not cholesterol shy. I recall from when I was growing up in Hong Kong that the best kind of pork belly was the "five layered belly" (五花腩) and this was especially a treat when you saw this cut on the roast pig sitting in the BBQ shop window. These days, it's not as difficult to find this cut in North American supermarkets as it was 30 years ago. When my mother (my children called her Popo) made braised pork then, she was stuck with pork shoulder if she wanted skin. Now we have the luxury of choice.

I was thrilled to find a perfect sample of this "five layered belly" at the supermarket the other day - skin, fat, meat, fat, meat in five thin layers. The way I cooked it is a combination of my mother's method and Mr. A's method of using Le Creuset in the oven. My mother would let the pork braise on the stove for a couple of hours, turning it every half hour or so and in general fussing over it. Mr. A's use of Le Creuset is more streamlined.

Start by dipping the pork in dark soy to colour the skin. Then brown the skin in a heavy pan over medium high heat. Remove from heat when slightly brown. Pour off any pork fat that has been rendered. Heat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil in the Le Creuset pot and sauté garlic and a large chopped up onion. Add red bean curd for flavour.

Red bean curd comes in a ceramic jar as you can see below and easily available in Chinese markets in North America (and yes, even in San Jose). One and a half squares of this red bean curd, mashed up with a little bit of sugar added would be sufficient for this piece of pork belly. Finally add high quality fermented soy sauce, dark soy and rock sugar. When the mixture is boiling add pork belly. Put the covered pot in a 300 degree oven for approximately two hours. Flip over the pork belly at the half way mark. It's done when you can easily insert a chopstick.

For cholesterol shy people, cook the pork belly the day before so you can peel off that solid layer of fat over the sauce the following day. Like most braised meat, the pork belly tastes better overnight.