Pork belly is something that I really enjoy, but only if it's cooked properly - I define that personally, as slow cooked so the fat has rendered, the meat softened and the crackling crispy... I've only ever had pork belly if it's been braised, slow cooked, oven cooked on a low heat for a long time.
I bought some pork belly slices this week, I normally only buy a large chunk, but thought I'd give them a go... I was so surprised to see that you can fry and grill these, for only around 15 minutes... How would you get a texture that isn't chewy, or fat that isn't hard or skin that isn't like a rubber band?!
I've always been a curious cook - I'll never knock something until I've tried it, even if I think it's a load of rubbish... So I gave it a go! I went with the frying option, because I felt like the results I'm used to getting from slow cooking belly pork, would be least likely to be achieved in a frying pan and wanted to see how much of a difference there was.
I love Asian pork belly, so I went with a simple marinade, which only needs to be left on for half an hour and I also finished mine off with some sugar in the pan, to get some caramelising going on with the skin and fat, hoping to aid to a better texture.
Well, I was surprised by the results. Cooking according to the instructions, did cook the pork, the meat wasn't like leather and the fat had rendered. However, I found the skin wasn't all that crispy like crackling, so I trimmed that and fried it for a further five minutes and got a better result. I can't say it's the same as slow cooking pork belly, but it is a great way to cook it for convenience and speed - I will definitely use this cooking method for a midweek meal.
Ingredients
I bought some pork belly slices this week, I normally only buy a large chunk, but thought I'd give them a go... I was so surprised to see that you can fry and grill these, for only around 15 minutes... How would you get a texture that isn't chewy, or fat that isn't hard or skin that isn't like a rubber band?!
I've always been a curious cook - I'll never knock something until I've tried it, even if I think it's a load of rubbish... So I gave it a go! I went with the frying option, because I felt like the results I'm used to getting from slow cooking belly pork, would be least likely to be achieved in a frying pan and wanted to see how much of a difference there was.
I love Asian pork belly, so I went with a simple marinade, which only needs to be left on for half an hour and I also finished mine off with some sugar in the pan, to get some caramelising going on with the skin and fat, hoping to aid to a better texture.
Well, I was surprised by the results. Cooking according to the instructions, did cook the pork, the meat wasn't like leather and the fat had rendered. However, I found the skin wasn't all that crispy like crackling, so I trimmed that and fried it for a further five minutes and got a better result. I can't say it's the same as slow cooking pork belly, but it is a great way to cook it for convenience and speed - I will definitely use this cooking method for a midweek meal.
Ingredients
- 1 small shallot, peeled
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
- 1 lemongrass stalk, core removed
- 1/2 red chilli, (leave the seeds in, if you prefer it hotter)
- 1 tsp Chinese five spice
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 5-6 pork belly slices
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (or any other vegetable oil)
- 1 tbsp sugar
Method
- Put the pork in a bowl. Excluding the oil and sugar, place the rest of the ingredients in a food processor, blitz to a paste and pour in the bowl with the pork. Cover and leave to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Place the marinated pork in the pan, and fry for 6-8 minutes on each side, moving occasionally.
- Sprinkle the sugar in the pan with the pork. Let the pork continue to cook for 1-2 minutes each side or until the meat is cooked through.
- If the skin hasn't crisped up enough, trim it from the slices, and put back in the pan (use a little more oil if needed) and fry until crispy.
- Serve warm with rice or noodles or cold as part of an Asian salad.
Tips, Tricks and Ideas
- I also tried this again, but cut the pork belly slices in half, this helped crisp it up a lot more!
- Cook any accompanying veg or noodles in the frying pan you used for the pork, you get the lovely flavour of the marinade.
- Put your marinade on the pork, and then freeze it. You only need to take it out to defrost the night before and you're good to go the next evening. This makes it an even more speedy mid-week meal.
- I buy my ginger, garlic and chillies from the frozen section! They are all prepped and portioned and perfect if you don't use these ingredients frequently, as they don't go off for ages. Also, it saves more prep time.
- If you use a low-salt soy sauce, you may need to season with salt or fish sauce to prevent the dish from being too sweet.
- If you're serving the pork as part of a salad, squeeze some fresh lime over the top.
- The marinade I've used will work well with any other meat or fish if you're not that keen on pork!