Red braised ginger pork belly with pickled chillies

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only
Malty Chinese black vinegar makes a great base for a slow-cooked one-pot with ginger, chilli and a thrifty cut of meat

  • Prep:10 mins
    Cook:2 hrs 15 mins
    Plus marinating
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 695
  • fat 46g
  • saturates 15g
  • carbs 20g
  • sugars 19g
  • fibre 1g
  • protein 52g
  • salt 1.6g

Ingredients

  • 2½ kg pork belly, rind removed, cut into 5cm pieces
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 200ml Shaohsing rice wine
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • thumb-sized piece ginger, cut into matchsticks
  • pinch of chilli flakes
  • 100ml Chinese black vinegar (available from Waitrose)
  • 140g soft brown sugar
  • 700ml vegetable stock
  • toasted sesame seeds
  • sliced spring onions
  • 2 red chilli, sliced and soaked in rice wine vinegar for 1 hr, then drained
  • steamed white rice

Method

  1. Toss the pork with the soy and 1 tbsp of the rice wine. Leave for 1 hr or, even better, overnight in the fridge.

  2. Heat some of the oil in a medium heavy-based saucepan. Brown the meat, in batches, on both sides and set aside. Add a little more oil and cook the garlic, ginger and chilli for 2-3 mins until golden.

  3. Pour the vinegar, remaining rice wine, sugar and stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Add the pork, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hrs or until the meat is tender. For the final 30 mins, remove the lid, increase the heat and let the liquid reduce until thick and syrupy. Serve scattered with the sesame seeds, spring onions and sliced chillies, with rice.

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