Chin Chin’s roast pork belly

Roast Pork Belly with Plum and Fennel Pickle

Recipe by Benjamin Cooper, Chin Chin

Who doesn’t love roast pork with super-crunchy crackling? This is a spice-laden twist with a fruity pickle on the side.

INGREDIENTS

200ml beer or shaoxing

100ml soy sauce

2 heads garlic, crushed

5 tbs sliced ginger

5–6 star anise

6–7 cinnamon quills

2kg pork belly, skin on

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup death sauce (see

note A)

For the Plum and fennel pickle: pickle

1 cup adjard syrup (see note B)

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cloves

2 star anise

peel from 1 orange

1 bulb fennel, finely

sliced

3 plums, seed removed, cut

into wedges

METHOD

Place beer or shaoxing wine, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, star anise and cinnamon in a roasting tray and place the pork belly on top, skin-side up and uncovered. Put in the fridge and marinate for 24–48 hours. It must be left uncovered to allow the skin to dry out.

Preheat oven to 140ºC/120ºC fan-forced. Combine olive oil and lemon juice. Remove pork from fridge, discard marinade and rub skin with oil-lemon juice combo. Coat liberally with salt (don’t be afraid; pork and salt are very good friends).

Put pork, skin-side up, into a clean roasting tray with either a roasting rack or cut vegetables for a trivet. Cook for 2 1/2 hours.

Increase the heat to 220ºC/200ºC fan-forced and cook for a further 15 minutes or so or until the crackling can’t be resisted any longer. Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes.

While pork is roasting, make the pickle. Put the adjard, fennel seeds, cloves, star anise, orange peel and a pinch of sea salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, remove and allow to cool slightly.

Put the fennel and plums in a good-sized bowl. Cover with the pickling syrup and allow to cool completely.

When pork has rested, carve into slices and arrange on a platter. Strain syrup from fennel and plums, and pile them beside the pork. Serve with a dish of death sauce.

NOTE A

DEATH SAUCE

MAKES ABOUT 500G

500g scud chillies (don’t take off the stems)

1 head garlic, peeled

850ml rice vinegar

250g caster sugar

Dry-fry half the scuds and the garlic until they’re blistered and smoky. Put them, the vinegar, caster sugar and a large pinch of salt n a large heavy-based pot. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add remaining scuds and cook for about 5 minutes. Cool and blitz to a salsa-like consistency. Store in the fridge.

NOTE B

ADJARD SYRUP

250ml castor sugar

250ml rice vinegar

In a saucepan, heat sugar and ¼ cup water over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Cool completely. Combine with rice vinegar. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

Makes 2 cups