Minimally Invasive

adapted slightly from Gastronomy Domine

2 pounds pork belly
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 tablespoons canola oil
5 cloves garlic
6 shallots
4 flowers of star anise
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup pork or chicken stock

Using a very sharp knife or a Chinese cleaver, chop the pork into strips about 3/4-inch thick. (Do not remove the skin.) Mix one tablespoon of the soy sauce with the honey and five-spice powder in a bowl, and marinade the sliced pork in the mixture for an hour.

Chop the garlic and shallots very finely. Heat the oil to a high temperature in a heavy Dutch oven with a close-fitting lid, and fry the garlic, shallots, star anise and brown sugar together until they begin to turn gold. Turn the heat down to medium, add the pork to the pan with its marinade, and fry until the meat is colored on all sides.

Pour over the white wine and cook until most of it is absorbed. Add the chicken stock, salt and the rest of the soy sauce. Bring the mixture to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and continue to simmer for two hours, turning the meat every now and then. If the sauce seems to be reducing and thickening, add a little water. (This wasn’t a problem for me. The sauce barely reduced at all.)

This is one of those recipes which is even better left to cool, refrigerated, and then reheated the next day. Skim the fat from the sauce before reheating. Brown the slices of belly over medium-high heat before topping with sauce. This renders even more of the fat and magically turns the belly into a health food.

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