This recipe was mouth watering good. The meat was so soft and tender and the caramalised crispy skin and outside bits tasted so good. The sauce was to die for it had all those conforting chinese flavours like ribs or a crispy duck. I served it with plain boiled white rice so I could maximise soaking up all those delicious flavours. There are a few stages to this recipe but it is really worth it.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 piece of belly pork, skin scored
• 1 inch piece of ginger, half slices with skin on and half with skin off
• 1 red chilli, pricked or split with a knife
• 1 bunch of spring onions, cut into batons
• 1 tsp schzeucuan peppercorns
• 3 star anise
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp of water
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp kecap manis (optional)
• 4 tbsp shoaxing wine
• 2 tsp five spice powder
• 200ml of pork stock (from the reserved simmering liquid)

Directions

1. Place the pork belly into a stock pot. Add the ginger slices with the skin on, the chilli, half the spring onions, the schezcuan peppercorns, 1 star anise and 2 garlic cloves. Cover with water and bring the boil, reduce to a medium heat and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming off any fat scum that floats to the top and discard. Remove the pork and place on a chopping board. Pour the stock into a jug through a sieve, reserving 200ml of the stock. Slice the pork into 1 1/2 inch slices.
2. In a wok add the granulated sugar and 3 tbsp of water. Heat over a high flame until the sugar turns from yellow to golden. Add the pork belly using the wok lid as a guard as it will splatter. Stir the pork so it caramalises and you prevent it from burning until golden all over.
3. Add in the rest of the ginger, spring onions, star anise and garlic. Give in a quick stir then add the soy sauces, kecap manis, shaoxing rice wine, five spice powder (I added mine to a dish while the pork was simmering so it was easier to pur in at this stage). Pour in the pork stock and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer cover with a lid and simmer stirring occasionally. I cooked mine for 2 hours (you can cook between 1-3 hours).
4. Once cooked remove the pork and turn up the heat under the wok and reduce sauce to required consistancy, I kept mine quite thin. Serve the pork belly pieces on top of a bed of cooked rice, finish off by pouring over the sauce.