Twice-Cooked Pork (回鍋肉)

Ingredients

• 300g pork belly
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 5 black peppercorns
• a small knob of ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 2 large red chillies a small handful of coriander
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

The Marinade

• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cornflour

The Sauce

• ½ tablespoon hoisin sauce
• ½ tablespoon rice wine
• ½ tablespoon Chinkiang black rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chilli bean sauce
• 1 teaspoon chilli oil
• Dash of dark soy sauce

Instructions

Preparation

1. To poach the pork, place the pork belly in a medium sized saucepan along with the star anise, cinnamon, cloves and black peppercorns. Cover with hot water, bring to a simmer and poach for at least 45 minutes (for best results, poach for up to 2 hours). Remove the meat from the pan, discarding the poaching liquid, and run under cold water to cool. Once cool, pat the skin dry with kitchen paper, then place on a plate, cover with clingfilm and leave to chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, preferably overnight.
2. When you are ready to cook, remove the pork from the fridge and slice it into thin pieces. Place the pieces in a mixing bowl, add the marinade ingredients and leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
3. Finely slice the ginger and garlic. Slice the onion into thin strips. Dice the chillies and roughly chop the coriander. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or ramekin. BUILD YOUR WOK CLOCK: Place your onions at 12 o’clock, then arrange the ginger, garlic, chilli, meat bowl, sauce bowl and coriander clockwise around the plate.

Cooking

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat until smoking. Add the onion and cook for 1 minute until slightly softened, then add the ginger, garlic and chillies and cook for a further minute until fragrant and smoky.
2. Push the vegetables to the back of your wok, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and return to smoking point before adding the pork slices. Spread them out in one layer and leave to sear for 1 minute until browned, then turn the pork slices over and repeat on the other side.
3. Spoon the veg over the top of the pork and pour over the sauce ingredients. Bring to a vigorous boil and stirfry for 2–3 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and coats the meat nicely. Spoon onto a serving plate and scatter over the coriander to finish.