Boiled Pork Belly With Garlic Sauce
Thinly sliced aromatic-poached pork belly served cold with a tangy Sichuan-style garlic dipping sauce.
⏱️ Prep: 20 min🍳 Cook: 90 min
Ingredients
| 5 cups | 1.2 l | water |
| 1 tablespoon | 15 ml | rice wine |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml | salt |
| 1 | star anise | |
| 2 | cardamom pods | |
| 1 ounce/30 grams | spring onion | |
| 2 knobs | ginger (each about 1-inch) | |
| 2 pounds 3 ounces | pork belly | |
| 1 | cucumber (thinly sliced) | |
| 1 tablespoon | 15 ml | roasted crushed peanuts, optional |
| 3 tablespoons | 45 ml | light soy sauce, for the garlic sauce |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml | sugar |
| 1/2 teaspoon | 2.5 ml | rice vinegar |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml | black vinegar |
| 1 drizzle | white sesame oil (or blended sesame oil) | |
| 1 ounce/30 grams | garlic (peeled and finely chopped) |
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- Place the water, rice wine, salt, star anise, cardamom pods, spring onion, and ginger into a stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the pork belly and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 1 hour until the pork is cooked—test by piercing with a chopstick, which should go through easily. Set aside to cool. Reserve the stock.
- Place all the ingredients for the garlic sauce in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of stock from the stockpot and mix well. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the cooled pork into 3mm (1/8-inch) thick slices.
- Arrange the pork on a serving plate with the cucumbers. Garnish with crushed peanuts if desired. Serve with the garlic sauce.
Tip: Try to slice the pork belly as thin as possible so it won't feel greasy and heavy.
Variations: Crushed peanut is an optional extra but adds flavor and texture; leave it out if you have a peanut allergy. You can add chili oil or Sichuan pepper oil if you like it hot and spicy.