Slow-cooked Sticky Pork Belly
Sticky, savory, and melt-in-your-mouth pork belly braised with garlic, ginger, soy, and five-spice in a pressure cooker. Easy, comforting, and packed with rich Asian-inspired flavor.
Equipment
- 1 Heavy-based pot for browning and braising
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil for browning the pork belly
- 1 kg Pork belly cut into 2–3 cm cubes
- 1 Garlic bulb peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 Red onions diced
- 1 Thumb-sized knob of ginger sliced into matchsticks
- 115 g Brown sugar firmly packed
- 125 ml Tamari or soy sauce tamari if gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 Star anise
- 500 ml Water
- Long red chilli optional sliced if you like heat
- Steamed rice and greens to serve
Instructions
Instructions
- Heat your olive oil in a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Make sure it’s nice and hot before you add anything.
- Add the pork belly cubes and brown them on all sides. Working in batches helps avoid crowding so they get that good sear not steaming.
- Once browned, scoop the pork out and set it aside. Pour off some fat if the pot feels too greasy.
- Toss in the chopped garlic, onions, and ginger. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes till you smell that fragrance filling the kitchen.
- Put the pork back in and toss with the brown sugar till everything is coated in sticky goodness.
- Pour in your tamari or soy sauce, sprinkle the five-spice, pop in star anise and pour the water over all.
- Get it to a simmer then reduce heat to low, cover and cook gently for 2 hours.
- Stir every now and then to keep it from sticking.
- After that, uncover and crank heat just a bit to reduce sauce till thick and shiny, about 30 to 45 minutes. Meat should do a tender pull when poked.
Notes
Swap tamari with soy sauce if gluten isn't a concern. Use pre-minced garlic and ginger to save time. Ask your butcher to pre-cut the pork belly. Leftovers taste even better the next day.