Recipe corner: Sticky pork belly with noodles

Back in November I talked about how to cook perfect pork belly which we tend to serve simply with mashed potato and serious gravy.  This recipe is what we like to do with the leftovers.  Indeed, we always make sure that we buy a bigger piece than we need to ensure that we can cook this.  It is seriously delicious.

 

The original recipe started with raw pork which, being more permeable than cooked, would probably absorb the marinade slightly better, but it works fine with the cooked meat and the marinade ends up giving the pork a lovely, sticky coating (hence the title I suppose!).  The recipe below assumes that you have roasted the pork but not done the final, skin crisping, stage.

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

210g cooked pork belly, cut into squares

 

4 cardamom pods

2 tbsp sweet soy sauce

2 tbsp water

1/2 orange rind, grated, and juice

1/2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp Chinese five spice

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes

salt and pepper

 

2 nests of medium egg noodles

2 tsp sunflower oil

2 heads of pak choi, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

Small handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Heaped tsp grated ginger

2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed

Red chilli pepper, seeded and chopped

Tbsp sesame oil

 

Serves 2, 17 pro points per portion

 

Lightly crush the cardamom pods and combine with the other marinade ingredients.  Add the pork to the marinade, cover and leave to soak up the flavour.  If I remember I do this 24 hours beforehand.  If not then a couple of hours will be fine.

 

When it is time to rock and roll, put the noodles on to cook in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

 

Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium heat.  Place the pork belly pieces in the pan, pouring over any remaining marinade and cook gently for 5 or 6 minutes until the sauce reduces and stickily coats the meat.

 

Put the sunflower oil in a larger frying pan or a wok and add the garlic, ginger and chilli and then turn the heat on - allowing them to heat up in the oil will help stop them burning.  When the oil is hot add the pepper and the white, crispy ends of the pak choi.  When these have started to soften add the green leaves and the coriander and allow to wilt in the heat, before adding the noodles and the sesame oil.

 

Serve the noodles topped with the sticky pork belly, garnishing with more chilli and coriander if you wish.