Asian-spiced hot & sour pork belly & plum buns

Name: Asian-spiced hot & sour pork belly & plum buns
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h 45 min
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1½ kg pork belly, unrolled; 2 tbsp Cooks' Ingredients Five Spice Blend; 2 tsp Vegetable oil; 400 g packs plums, halved and stoned; 3 echalion shallots, halved; 1 cinnamon stick; 3 star anise; 2 red chillies, pricked with a fork; 150 g light brown soft sugar; 100 ml red wine; 100 ml chicken stock; 2 Heston from Waitrose Brioche Burger Buns, split and toasted; ½ cucumber, finely shredded; 6 salad onions, finely shredded

These sweet brioche buns are filled with flavoursome pork belly, crunchy crackling, fresh salad onions and cucumber and a homemade plum sauce to perfectly round off the dish.

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Serves8
CourseMain meal
Prepare20 mins
Cook2 hrs 45 mins
Total time3 hrs 5 mins

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Ingredients

1½kg pork belly, unrolled
2 tbsp Cooks' Ingredients Five Spice Blend
2 tsp Vegetable oil
2 x 400g packs plums, halved and stoned
3 echalion shallots, halved
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise
2 red chillies, pricked with a fork
150g light brown soft sugar
100ml red wine
100ml chicken stock
4 x 2 Heston from Waitrose Brioche Burger Buns, split and toasted
½ cucumber, finely shredded
6 salad onions, finely shredded

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Rub the pork belly flesh with the dry five spice, and rub the oil and some salt into the scored skin. Place on a rack over a roasting tin of just-boiled water and roast for 15 minutes, then reduce to 150°C, gas mark 2 and cook for 2 hours until the meat is tender.
Meanwhile, place the plums and shallots in a separate large roasting tin, add the cinnamon stick, star anise, chillies, sugar, wine and chicken stock. Place in the oven with the pork to cook for 40-50 minutes until soft. Remove from the oven, leave to cool and spoon into a serving bowl.
Remove the pork from the oven and place on a board, pull away the crackling and cut into portions, then shred the flesh. Serve piled into the toasted buns, topped with some plum sauce, cucumber and salad onions.

Cook’s tip

If the crackling isn’t crisp at the end of the cooking time, increase the oven temperature to 220°C, gas mark 7 and return the crackling to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until it is crunchy and crisp.