Pork belly with red cabbage #148

Pork belly is as always a great way to serve pork, as always with cuts like this try to do a little bit extra so you can serve leftovers a day or two later. Why? Well the taste is amazing and since the belly needs to be cooked for about a day there is no extra effort in to doing a bit extra once you do it. Also it´s better to do the meat one day ahead of serving to give it time to set and get cold. This will make it easier to cut in serving size pieces and the won´t fall apart as easy.

Pork belly with red cabbage

fresh pork belly
red cabbage
butter
salt, pepper
vegetable oil
sugar

Season the pork belly with salt and pepper and roast whole in the oven on low to medium heat until it´s tender. This will take somewhere between six and ten hours. Leave it to chill in the fridge over night. Cut the belly in serving size pieces and remove and excessive fat. Sear the belly in butter and vegetable oil in a pan until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the cabbage in big chunks but remove any thick stems. Fry the cabbage with salt, pepper and a little bit of sugar in butter until almost cooked through. You want to keep a little bit of crunch but still have it soft and without the raw cabbage taste. Serve.

Miso soup with roasted pork belly & wakame and egg #146

This may look a bit complicated but the only thing that´s hard is to wait for the pork belly to get ready. I use an instant miso soup that I season with a little bit of soy, holy basil and add dried wakame algae to. With the miso, the roasted meat and a creamy egg it´s look and taste way more unusual and complex than what it is. If you have the time you can serve this same dish with a home cooked broth made with beef or chicken stock and season it with the holy basil and soy. Try to make the pork belly a day ahead, and make more than
you´ll need because if you happen to have ready made roasted pork belly sitting in the fridge you tend to need in the end.

Miso soup with roasted pork belly & wakame and egg

fresh pork belly
instant miso soup
Japanese soy
dried wakame algae
eggs
holy basil
salt, pepper
vegetable oil

Brush the pork belly with vegetable oil and season heavily with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven on medium heat until it´s tender, this usually take somewhere between six and ten hours. Make sure to baste the meat every hour or so. Chill the meat if you are making a day ahead, otherwise leave it to cool until serving and then slice it.

Bring the instant miso to the boil with some wakame and check the flavor, season with soy and a few leafs of holy basil, set aside. Boil the eggs for about five minutes and then quickly chill and peel it. Slice the meat and serve it in a bowl with half an egg and the warm miso soup and some wakame. Chop and sprinkle a little bit of holy basil on top.

Braised pork belly with soy & cucumber & fennel salad #121

Braised pork belly is one of the tastiest and cheapest part of the pig you can serve and if you do it right it will be simply amazing. It´s quite easy to get the belly tasting good, all it needs is loads of time. The ways of seasoning the belly is numerous but I chose to make it a bit asian with japanese soy this time because I like how it matches the crisp raw salad of the cucumber both in flavor and texture.

Since braising pork belly isn´t to much work once you got it in the oven or pot you can make a big batch and save some for dinner, tacos or some nice sandwiches. The extra effort in time is almost nothing but the reward to have some pre-braised belly waiting in the frigde.

Braised pork belly with soy & cucumber & fennel salad

pork belly

japanese soy

beef stock

fish sauce

dried chili

water

salt, pepper

honey

cucumber

fennel

lime juice

sesame seeds

sesame oil

olive oil

Cut of the skin of the belly if it´s still left on, the season to belly with salt and pepper and then sear it on all sides until golden. Remove from the pan and transer into a pot and add the japanese soy, beef stock, fish sauce, dried chili and honey and then cover with water. Leave to simmer under a lid until tender, this takes about 4-6 hours, however it´s almost impossible to let i cook for too long so up to ten hours is not a problem. Once done remove the meat and reduce the liquid until it´s a thick sauce.

Cut the cucumber and fennel in thin stripes and combine with sesame seeds, olive oil, lime juice and a few drops of sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice the pork belly and plate it, drizzle with some of the cooking sauce, serve the salad on the side.