Chilli Caramel Pork Belly

One of my favourite restaurants in Sydney is China Doll which is located in historic Finger Wharf with amazing views of the city skyline and Sydney Harbour. One a fine day, it would be hard to find something better. One of the most popular dishes at China Doll is their Chilli Caramel Pork Belly served with a peppery Lime Dipping Sauce. Tender Porky Belly cubes in a sticky salty sweet glaze is just about perfect, and I love this dish so much that I had to try and recreate it. I’m thinking that it shouldn’t be too difficult, after all it’s very similar to the beloved Filipino Pork Adobo.

And no offence to China Doll, but I think my version is better. Why? China Doll’s version doesn’t have enough chilli in my humble opinion. It’s probably because it’s geared to please everyone, but if you’re a chilli addict like me, mild isn’t good enough. That’s the beauty of making something yourself, you can tweak the recipe until it’s perfect for your taste. Another recreation of mine from China Doll is Zucchini and Corn Cakes – easy enough to make at home and just as delicious.

What you need to make Chilli Caramel Pork

• You need about 700g of Pork Belly to serve 4. Choose meat that is lean, skin on with just a small layer of fat.
  
• Fridge/Pantry – Chinese Cooking Wine (red wine also works), sugar, oil, light and dark soy sauce, onion, garlic,star anise,bay leaves ,chilli flakes and a thumb sized ginger.
  
• For the dipping sauce- Lime or Lemon,Fish Sauce,Pepper and Chilli, if you want it hot.
  

Easy does it..

• Cook the pork belly in plenty of salted boiling water. This gets rid of the porky smell and the scum and starts off the cooking process. You can either boil the pork belly whole or pre cut the meat in 3cm cubes, it’s up to you. I have to say, it’s easier to slice the meat after it’s been boiled first. Rinse the pork with water and drain in colander. Pat dry with paper towel.
• In a saucepan, heat cooking oil and sugar on medium until the sugar melts. This should only take a minute or so. Add the pork pieces, until they turn golden, then add the Chinese wine to deglaze the pan and prevent the pork pieces from sticking to the pan.
  
• Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan along with enough water to cover the pork, about 1 cup. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the pork cubes are tender, by which time the sauce will also be thick and look like a shiny glaze. Add a little bit more water if the pork is not yet tender at 45 minutes. If the pork is cooked, but there’s still a lot of liquid left, increase the heat and cook uncovered until most of the liquid has evaporated. Check seasoning, adding more chilli to taste.
  
• Serve with steamed rice, Asian greens and the Lime Dipping Sauce.

Chilli Caramel Pork Belly

Recipe by acmowlai

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: MainCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• 700g Pork Belly cut up into 3cm cubes

• 3 tablespoons Sugar

• 1 tablespoon Oil

• 1/4 cup Chinese Wine or red Wine

• 4 tablespoons light Soy Sauce

• 4 tablespoons dark Soy Sauce

• 6 Cloves Garlic,minced

• 2 Star Anise

• 2 Bay Leaves

• 1 thumb sized Ginger,peeled and grated

• 1 tablespoon Chilli Flakes, or to taste

• Fish Sauce and Lime Dipping Sauce

• 3 cloves of Garlic, minced

• 3 bird’s eye Chilli, sliced

• 5 tablespoons of Fish Sauce

• 5 tablespoons of Lemon or Lime Juice

• 3 tablespoons of Sugar

• To serve

• Steamed Rice and Wilted Asian Greens like Bok Choy or Morning Glory

Directions

• Place pork cubes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to boil and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and rinse in cold water to remove the scum. Set aside to drain the pork thoroughly. Pat dry with paper towel.
• In a saucepan, place oil and sugar and heat on medium until sugar melts. Add the drained pork pieces and cook until pork is golden brown. Add the wine to the pan to deglaze, stirring to prevent the pork from sticking. Add the rest of the ingredients together with about 1 cup of water or enough to cover the pork.Bring to boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the pork is tender and the sauce thickens. You may add to add more water at this stage.
• If the pork is tender, but there’s still a lot of liquid left, cook uncovered until most of the sauce evaporate. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the pork pieces.
• Sprinkle with the Chilli Flakes and serve with steamed greens, rice and dipping sauce.
• Fish Sauce and Lime Dipping Sauce
• Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.

Notes

• Great as toppings for ramen. Will keep for a week in the fridge.