
Slow-roasted soy and balsamic glazed Hampshire pork belly with sautéed pak-choi
Ingredients
for the belly
700g Hampshire rind-on pork belly piece
150ml soy sauce
8 tbsps balsamic vinegar
3 tbsps honey
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
for the sautéed pak choi
1 tbsp sesame oil
100g shitake mushrooms, sliced into quarters
1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp ginger, finely chopped
4 pak choi, sliced into quarters
1 tbsp fish sauce
Method
To marinade the belly, in a bowl mix together the soy, balsamic, honey, chilli and garlic. Place the belly in a deep oven tray and fully coat with the marinade. Cover the tray and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning the meat over after 12 hours to allow the flavours to soak in.
To cook the belly, pre-heat the oven to 140°C/275°F/gas mark 1. Remove the tray from the fridge and cover with tin foil, ensuring that it doesn't touch the rind of the belly during cooking or it will stick to the foil. Cook for 2 hours, checking occasionally that the marinade hasn’t dried out: if it's nearly dry, add a little water so that it doesn't burn. Once the pork belly has become sticky and the meat tender, remove from the oven and allow to rest on a warm plate. If the juices are quite thick in the bottom of the tray you are ready to serve however; if the juices from the pork are quite thin, pour them into a pan and reduce on a low heat to a double cream-like consistency to create the balsamic glaze.
To sauté the pak choi, heat a wok or frying pan on a medium heat. Once hot add the sesame oil and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute, stirring the mushrooms halfway through. Add the garlic and ginger, mix in and cook for another minute, then add the pak choi, a splash of water and the fish sauce. Cook for 2 minutes until the pak choi is cooked
but still crunchy.
To serve, slice the belly pork and place in a bowl with the sautéed pak choi and mushrooms and drizzle with the balsamic glaze.