Crispy Pork Belly With Asian Salad And Chili Ginger Caramel Sauce

INGREDIENTS

Pork and Caramel:
1.5 - 2kg piece of pork belly
2 tbs of sea salt
2 tbs of vegetable oil
1/2 cup  brown sugar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup of chicken stock
2 whole star anise
Knob of ginger, peeled
Half a large green chill, deseeded but not chopped
3 tbs of fish sauce
A squeeze of lime

Salad:
1 cup of mint leaves
1 cup of coriander leaves
1 cup thai basil
Half small head of chinese cabbage thinly sliced
2 green apples, sliced into thin matchsticks
2 spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces then finely sliced lengthways
1 red chilli, halved, deseeded and finely sliced
Juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/4 cup palm sugar


DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 475F (250° C). Ensure the pork belly skin is well scored with a sharp knife at 1 cm intervals.

Pat the pork belly skin dry with paper towel and place on a rack inside a baking tray.  Massage the oil and salt into the skin, ensuring it all gets into the scored fat.  Pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

Cook at high heat for 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 325F (170C) and cook for a further 2.5 hours.

While the pork is cooking, place the sugar, vinegar, star anise, ginger and chill in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the sauce to cook for approximately 5 minutes.  Add the chicken stock and reduce for another 10 minutes.

Once the pork is close to done, add the fish sauce and lime and heat bring to a simmer until ready to serve. Remove the star anise, ginger and chill before serving.

Place the salad ingredients in a bowl and gently toss with your hands. For the salad dressing, combine the lime, fish sauce and palm sugar.

Remove the pork belly from the oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. Cut the pork belly into 10cm squares and and serve on top of the salad, with a generous serve of caramel.