Crackling Pork Belly with Plum Sauce

How to make Crackling Pork Belly with Plum Sauce

Prep Time: 30 minutes        |        Cook Time: 50 minutes        |        Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 500-800g Ironbark Pork pork belly
• 2 tbsp The Olive Tree olive oil
• 1 tsp table salt

Plum sauce:

• 650g ripe plums (weight, once seeds removed and halved)
• ⅓ cup Oh So Natural apple cider vinegar
• ⅓ cup White Mill brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Asia Specialities soy sauce
• ¼ tsp Stonemill ground paprika
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• Sprinkle of Stonemill chilli flakes (optional)

Cucumber salad:

• 4 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp Asia Specialities soy sauce
• 1 tsp Stonemill sesame seeds
• ¼ tsp Stonemill chilli flakes
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Salt and pepper, to season

Method

1. Remove the pork belly from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature, for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced).
3. Pat dry the pork belly rind with paper towel. Score with sharp knife. Drizzle and rub oil and salt over the pork belly rind.
4. Place the pork belly rind-side up on a lined roasting tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the skin begins to crackle and turns golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
5. While the pork belly is cooking, make plum sauce. Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a simmer. With a knife, make a cross on top of the plums and blanch for 1-2 minutes until the skin starts to fold back, then place in an ice bath to cool. Once cool, peel the skin back and dice into small cube pieces, disregarding the stones.
6. Into a medium-sized saucepan, add in brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, paprika, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Slowly bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the plums are soft and the sauce has thickened slightly. Set aside and keep warm.
7. Once pork belly is cooked, set aside and allow to rest.
8. Lightly toast sesame seeds until golden brown, then set aside.
9. Prepare the cucumber salad. Place cucumbers in a bowl. Add garlic, sesame oil, chili flakes and soy sauce. Add sesame seeds. Season to taste and mix well. Transfer to a serving bowl.
10. To serve, turn the pork belly rind-side down, slice into 2cm thick pieces, then cut each slice into 2cm cubes.
11. On a serving plate, arrange a bottom layer of 8-10 pork belly cubes, followed by a second layer of 6-8 cubes, then 3-4 cubes, finishing with one piece on top. Drizzle warm plum sauce over the top.
12. Serve the cucumber salad in a separate bowl alongside the piled pork belly.

Option: Add steamed rice as a side dish.