INGREDIENTS
1.2kg piece boneless pork belly
4 thin slices ginger
2 spring onions, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
30ml fish sauce
6 long green (Thai) eggplant, cut lengthwise into quarters
6 sprigs coriander
2 tablespoons fried garlic slices
Bean paste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon Christine Manfield Chilli Jam
¼ cup rock sugar, cracked into small pieces
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
¼ cup yellow bean paste
2 tablespoons reserved pork jelly
4 spring onions, cut into thin diagonal slices
I tablespoon red chilli, cut into thin julienne strips
METHOD
- Place the pork in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the pot and refresh immediately under cold running water.
- Place the pork skin side up into a solid steam tray.
- Combine ginger, spring onions, soy, mirin, Shaoxing wine and fish sauce. Pour over the pork.
Cover the pork with baking paper and then seal with a large sheet of foil. - Steam at 100°C for 5 hours or until tender. Note the pork will shrink during this process.
- Carefully remove pork from the steam oven. Discard all solids.
- Transfer pork to a clean tray. Strain remaining juices through a fine sieve and set aside until cold.
- Cover the pork with a sheet of baking paper and stand a tray of the same size on top of the pork and weigh it down with something heavy. This compresses the meat as it cools. Refrigerate the pork for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove the skin from the pork and discard. Remove the layer of fat from the reserved juices. These reserved juices are the pork jelly used later in the recipe.
- To prepare the bean paste, heat wok on medium heat, Induction setting 6, add oil. Stir-fry ginger, garlic and chilli jam for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add sugar, Shaoxing wine, vinegar, yellow bean paste and 2 tablespoons of reserved pork jelly. Cook until thick and sugar has dissolved.
- Place the eggplants, cut side up in a solid steam tray. Steam at 80°C for 15 minutes or until tender.
- Pour the bean paste over the eggplants. Scatter with spring onions and red chilli and steam at 80°C for a further 2 minutes. Remove from steam oven.
- Cut pork into 2cm wide lengths and place in a solid steam tray. Top with 2 tablespoons of the pork jelly. Steam at 100°C for 3 minutes.
To serve
- Cut the eggplants in half and place in serving bowl with the sauce. Place pork on top. Garnish with coriander and fried garlic slices.
Hints and tips
- The reserved juices from the pork, when cooled become the pork jelly. This pork jelly is used in the yellow bean sauce and for reheating the pork.Large purple eggplants can be used, if green are not available. Do not use long Japanese eggplants as they have a different texture. Christine Manfield Chilli Jam can be found at various delicatessens, for a list of your closest supplier, please refer to Christine’s website: www.christinemanfield.com