The dynamic duo is at it again… Last newsletter saw Chef Brad Ball tossing down the gauntlet to winemaker JD Pretorius in the form of the HMS Sphynx. Now it’s JD’s turn to challenge the chef which he did by nominating the 2009 Semillon. “The wine is really starting to creep out of its skin at the moment…” Given time it takes on interesting tertiary characteristics so what works this year might not necessarily be a perfect match in a year’s time when the wine has matured and evolved.
In the interests of research Brad spent some time with the Semillon 2009. “I think a spicy pork belly is the way to go,” he said. So here is the recipe for a deliciously slow-cooked free-range pork belly with palm sugar caramel and sambal olek. Brad swears that the recipe is really very simple and easy to do, even though it looks a bit long and intricate. “The nice thing is that it can be prepped long in advance.”
STICKY PORK BELLY WITH SAMBAL OLEK AND SALTED CARAMEL
For five
For the pork belly
( Prepare a day ahead)
Ingredients:
· 1 star anise
· 2 cloves
· 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
· 1 hot red chilli, halved
· 1 piece fresh orange peel
· 1 onion peeled and sliced.
· Thumb size piece of fresh ginger, sliced
· 200ml Steenberg Semillon 2009
· Salt and pepper
· 2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
· 1.5kg pork belly, de-boned and skin off
Method
· Place the sliced onion, star anise, cloves, coriander, orange peel, ginger and wine in an oven tray and mix.
· Collect the onions in the middle of the tray
· Season the belly with the five spice, salt and pepper
· Let the belly lie on top of the onions
· Cover with foil
· Roast covered at 160°C for 2.5 hours
· Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle the belly
· Remove the belly and place it in another tray, cover the belly with a cutting board and weigh it down overnight in the fridge
· Pass the remaining ingredients through a sieve into a sauce pan and reduce until sticky, add to your salted caramel.
For the Caramel
(On the day)
Ingredients:
· 1/3 cup of fish sauce
· 1 cup palm sugar. (Treacle sugar will also do the trick.)
· Reduced jus from roasting tin
Method:
· Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat once the sugar has dissolved
· Add reduced jus
· Keep warm, but do not reduce or it will become too sticky.
For the Sambal Olek
Ingredients:
· 10 medium heavy chillies, stalks trimmed
· Juice of 1 lime
· 5ml salt
· ½ onion, sliced
· 2 fresh plum tomatoes
· 30ml peanut oil
Method:
· Place everything into a sauce pan with a few tablespoons of water and simmer, covered, over a low heat for 5 minutes with no colour
· Blend in an upright blender until smooth
· Pass the sauce through a sieve to remove any chilli skins and seeds
· Season with salt to taste.
To complete:
Remove the pork belly from the fridge and slice into five equal portions.
Fry the pork in a hot pan until golden brown.
Pour the caramel over and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
When plating the pork be sure to allow most of the caramel to run off back into the pan.
Serve with the warmed sambal olek and stir fried vegetable.