Sticky Asian Pork Belly with Noodles and Veg

Sticky Asian Pork Belly with Noodles and Veg

All of this was made from my pantry and freezer. Purchasing Pork Belly is cheap and easy so even if you don’t have it on hand it should be fairly easy to find. Most people don’t know what to do with pork belly…. That is why it is still somewhat affordable. Many have the misconception that this is just ‘extra thick’ bacon…. But it’s not. It is juicy, tender meat that is NOT overly fatty or greasy…if cooked properly. If you’ve never had Pork Belly prior…. Try it now before others catch on and the price goes up! You will love it! This particular recipe makes it easy and simple. Many pork belly recipes call for ‘low and slow’ oven cooking that takes hours. No need on this one…..and that is a huge plus.

INGREDIENTS:

-        6 strips of pork belly (if buying in one-piece slice into 1/8” strips)

-        4 Tbsp Soya Sauce

-        1 garlic clove – diced

-        1 heaping Tbsp of ginger – grated

-        1-2 thai chillies chopped finely or 1 tsp of dried chilies

-        1 tsp of brown sugar

-        2-3 Tbsp of veg oil (1 Tbsp of sesame oil and 2 Tbsp of veg oil would be preferred)

-        ½ cup of water (or as needed).

-        2 pkg’s of dried ramen noodles or other dried Asian noodles

-        3 ribs of celery – diced

-        1 carrot – diced

-        ½ onion – diced

-        Handful of sliced or whole almonds as garnish(optional)

METHOD:

Combine pork belly with Soya Sauce, Garlic, Ginger, Chilies, brown sugar and veg Oil. (again, adding 1/3 of Sesame Oil would be preferred but do what you can with what you have and it will still be fine).

Place pork belly and above mixture in high sided frying pan (approx. 10-12”) and turn on med-low heat

.

In a separate pot, bring sufficient water to a boil to cook dried noodles. Based on individual cooking instructions, cook just below doneness, strain and cool with cold water in a colander. Reserve until ready to add to veg.

Continue to cook pork belly and ‘marinade’ on med-low heat for approx. 30-45min. Turn pork belly every so often to ensure even cooking. Cover with lid and reserve until ready to portion and serve.

In a separate frying pan, add 1 tbsp of veg oil. Once heated, add celery, carrot and onion. Stir constantly until just tender/soft.

Add ‘almost done’ cooked noodles to veg mixture.

In a small bowl – mix the package of ramen noodle flavouring with 1/2 cup of water and ¼ tsp of corn starch. If using Asian noodles with no flavour packaging use 1 tbsp of dried chicken stock cube or….if you don’t have that….use ¼ tsp of onion powder, ¼ tsp of garlic powder and any fresh (or dried) herbs that you might have such as parsley, coriander, chives and ground clove. If you have Chinese 5 spice -all the better! Don’t forget the Cornstarch! That is key to thicken the sauce and give the noodles/veg the glossy look that we want from Asian noodles.

Add Cornstarch and/flavour package to vegetables in frying pan. Combine and then add ½ cup of water and turn on high heat.

Add noodles to veg.

As sauce/thickens, turn heat to low (or off), cover with lid and reserve until ready to serve.

Remove pork belly from pan, cut into approx. 1’ pieces and serve with Noodles/Veg.

Serves 4