So you've done the roast and the braised belly, now where to? Boiled of course. Not slowly braised in a rich liquor till soft and gelatinous, plain boiled in water till just cooked then left to go cold to enjoy in chewy, fatty, meaty slices.
I guess this dish is from the south west of China, certainly the two times I had it we were up in the mountains of Yunnan. Over here, with our more intensively reared animals, you tend to get more meat than fat but over there some slices were the slightest sliver of meat with a few centimetres of pure, white, creamy fat. The meat stays firm with such a short cooking time and the skin doesn't soften much either giving a delightful bite, the fat is firm but ultimately giving. The vinegar cuts through the richness, as does the ginger and the zing of the chili. It is really tasty but richness cutting sauce or not you wouldn't want a whole plateful to yourself. Even with a leaner pig from these shores you still won't want to eat too much of this, as such it makes a nice pre-dinner snack or part of a larger meal shared between people. A quarter of this measly 300 gr would be enough for me really.
Pork Belly with Black Vinegar and Ginger
Ingredients
300 gr pork belly
2 TB light soy
4 ts chinkiang (black) vinegar
1 birdseye chili
2 spring onions
2 thin slices ginger
Pinch of salt
1/2 ts sesame oil
Method
Put the belly in a saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer till just cooked, maybe 30-40 minutes. Leave to cool slightly in the water and then remove and cool fully.
For the dipping sauce slice the ginger into matchsticks, chop the chili finely and then mix everything bar the spring onions together.
Slice the belly thinly (3mm-5mm), lay out on a plate and sprinkle with the sliced spring onion greens.
Serve with the sauce for dipping.
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