Recipe: Chinese pork belly with green papaya salad

Straight and Marrow owner and chef Chris Lam show how a little bit of prep work can help make this pork belly dish extra flavourful.

• 800g rind off pork belly
• 6 cups chicken stock

Brine

• ½ cup salt
• 7 cups water
• 1/8 cup honey
• 3 tbs pickling spice

Five-spice glaze

• 1 Tbs Chinese Five Spice Powder
• 4 Tbs Honey
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 8 Tbs Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil

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Green papaya salad

• 1 Package Shredded Green Papaya (AKA cooking papaya, can be found at most Asian groceries)
• 1 Bunch of Cilantro
• 50 g Toasted Almonds

Salad dressing

• 1 Tbs Fish Sauce
• 1 Tbs Sesame Oil
• 4 Tbs Lime Juice
• 4 Tbs Soy Sauce
• 1 ts Garlic Powder

Pork belly & brine

1. Heat up all brine ingredients in a pot and cool before adding the pork belly to it. Brine the pork belly in the fridge overnight.
2. Rinse the brine off the pork belly and dry with a paper towel.
3. Using the roasting pan that you will be braising the belly in, sear the pork skin side down, when a nice golden brown, flip it over and add 1/8 cup of the brine and the chicken stock.
4. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 3 hours at 325 F.
5. Make sure the belly is tender with a skewer, looking for little resistance. When ready, remove the belly and place on a drip tray to dry off and rest, this should take about 30 minutes.

Five-spice glaze

1. Whisk all ingredients together.
2. Cut the pork belly into individual portions. In a medium heat pan with a little bit of oil, sear off the portions of belly for about 3 minutes a side, when on the last side spoon on some of the glaze to each portion, and baste it while still on the stove.
3. This can also be done in the oven if desired, Belly can be baked at 425F for 10 minutes with the glaze spooned over.

Green Papaya Salad

1. Whisk dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
2. When dressing is complete, add the shredded green papaya.
3. Garnish the salad with picked cilantro and almonds.