Pork Recipes

Slow-cooked Sticky Pork Belly

Name: Slow-cooked Sticky Pork Belly
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h 40 min
Total time: 2 h 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) pork belly, cut into 2–3 cm (¾–1¼ inch) cubes (you can use up to 1.5 kg/3 lb 5 oz of pork belly for this recipe); 1 whole garlic bulb, peeled and roughly chopped (see note 1); 3 red onions, diced roughly (brown onions are fine too) (see note 1); 1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, sliced and cut into thin matchsticks (see note 1); ½ firmly packed cup (115 g) brown sugar; ½ cup (125 ml) tamari or all-purpose soy sauce; 1 tsp Chinese five-spice; 2 star anise; 2 cups (500 ml) water; Sliced long red chilli (optional); Steamed rice and greens, to serve

4 servings

servings

15 minutes

active time

2 hours 55 minutes

total time

Start Cooking

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) pork belly, cut into 2–3 cm (¾–1¼ inch) cubes (you can use up to 1.5 kg/3 lb 5 oz of pork belly for this recipe)

1 whole garlic bulb, peeled and roughly chopped (see note 1)

3 red onions, diced roughly (brown onions are fine too) (see note 1)

1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, sliced and cut into thin matchsticks (see note 1)

½ firmly packed cup (115 g) brown sugar

½ cup (125 ml) tamari or all-purpose soy sauce

1 tsp Chinese five-spice

2 star anise

2 cups (500 ml) water

Sliced long red chilli (optional)

Steamed rice and greens, to serve

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium–high heat and cook the pork belly in batches for 5–8 minutes until browned and golden. Set aside.

Add the garlic, onion and ginger to the same pan. Cook for 2–3 minutes until slightly softened and fragrant.

Add the brown sugar, tamari (or all-purpose soy sauce), Chinese five-spice, star anise and water. Return the pork to the pan.

Bring to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, place the lid on and cook for 2 hours. Check halfway through and add 1/2 cup (125 ml) of water if the sauce is sticking to the base of the pan. The sauce will be thin but will caramelise in the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

Once cooked, the pork should easily break apart with a fork. If not, cook in 15-minute intervals until soft, adding an extra ¼ cup (60 ml) of water as needed.

Once the pork is soft, remove the lid and turn the heat to high for 5–10 minutes to let the sauce thicken. It is ready when the sauce is sticky and coats the pork.

Garnish with the sliced chilli (if using) and serve with steamed rice and greens.

Nutrition

Serving Size

Calories

1619

Total Fat

124.5 g

Saturated Fat

44.5 g

Unsaturated Fat

Trans Fat

0 g

Cholesterol

163.3 mg

Sodium

103.5 mg

Total Carbohydrate

98.3 g

Dietary Fiber

3.5 g

Total Sugars

54.6 g

Protein

27.9 g