Publications
Serves 4
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
MISO PORK BELLY
• 700 g lean pork belly*, skin removed and set aside
• 15 ml miso paste (get it at Woolworths or your nearest Asian supermarket)
• 2 cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 125 ml soy sauce
• 125 ml rice wine vinegar
• 250 ml apple cider
• 60 ml brown sugar
• 500 ml water
SOUP
• 30 ml sesame oil
• 2 cm fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 15 ml miso paste
• about 1L chicken stock
• 250 ml reserved cooking liquid from the pork
TO SERVE
• about 340 g egg noodles, cooked according to the instructions on the packet
• 4 soft-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
• 3 short spring onions, thinly sliced
• a handful soft white bean sprouts
• 2–3 red chillies, chopped
* Choose a rectangular piece of pork that will form a thin roll and not a fat spiral. I cut the roll in half so it would fit in the cooking liquid in my pot.
1 Preparation Place the pork belly fat side down on a clean surface and spread the miso paste on the inside. Roll up the meat into a thin roll and tie with kitchen string.
2 Fry the pork in a thick-bottomed pan until golden-brown all over. There’s no need to add extra oil – rather use the meat’s own fat. Stir in the ginger, soy, vinegar, cider, sugar and water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes; skim off any foam that forms on the surface and discard. Put the lid on and simmer gently for 2 hours over low heat. Every 30 minutes, turn the meat over in the liquid.
3 For the soup Heat the sesame oil in a pan and sauté the ginger, garlic and chopped spring onions for half a minute. Stir in the miso paste and stir-fry. Add the stock and bring to a boil; simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid – this will enrich the soup with a hint of sweet-and-sour flavour.
4 To serve Thinly slice the pork. Divide the noodles between four bowls and add an egg, a few slices of pork and a sprinkling of the other ingredients. Fill the bowls with the broth and serve with extra soy sauce to taste. Tip Make crispy crackling with the reserved pork skin and serve it as a crunchy element with the soup.
