The Food Identity

Passport & Plate - Crème Brûlée Confit Pork Belly Pancakes

United Kingdom | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 5 photos

INGREDIENTS
For the pork:
• ½ a whole pork belly, about 1½ kg (ask for the thin half), boned, skin left on
• 2 x 350g jars goose fat (can be replaced with lard or sunflower oil)
• A whole bulb of garlic, cut in half horizontally
• Bunch of thyme
• Bunch of rosemary
• 1 Tbsp coarse sea salt
• 4 Tbsp Chinese five spice
• 8 Tbsp white caster sugar

For the garnish:
• 20 Chinese pancakes
• 6 spring onions, sliced into fine lengths
• 2 Pink Lady apples, cored and sliced into lengths
• Seeds from 1 pomegranate
• Handful of rocket
• 8 Tbsp sweet bean sauce (can be replaced with hoisin sauce)

Equipment:
• Roasting pan
• Handful of wooden skewers, taped together
• Blowtorch


HOW TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE
1. Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C.
2. Season the pork belly well on all sides with coarse sea salt. Turn the belly skin-side down and rub the Chinese five spice into the meat.
3. In a deep pan, lay down half the rosemary and thyme as well as the halved garlic bulbs. Place the pork belly on top, skin-side up and cover with the remaining herbs.
4. Pour the goose fat into the pan to cover the pork belly. Tip: try to use a pan that is only slightly larger than the pork belly to ensure that it is completely submersed in the fat.
5. Cover the pan with foil then cook the pork in the oven for 4 hours, until very tender.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and rest for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, lay out kitchen towels on a tray.
7. Carefully lift the pork from the fat and pick off any herbs. Lay it skin side down to remove any excess fat or moisture. While the pork skin is still hot and pliable, use a handful of wooden skewers to make lots of tiny holes throughout the skin. This ensures a crispy crackling rather than a chewy one.
8. Carefully transfer the pork belly, skin-side down, into a cold dry frying pan. Cover the pork belly with parchment paper and place a tray with heavy weight on top to ensure a flat crispy skin. The parchment paper will prevent any oil spitting everywhere.
9. Place the frying pan on a low heat for 18-25 minutes until perfectly crisp. In the meantime, steam the pancakes in a bamboo steamer (or use a microwave!).
10. When the skin is crisp, remove from the pan. Cover the crackling with a layer of caster sugar and caramelised with a blowtorch – as you would a crème brûlée. Avoid burning the sugar. Let the sugar harden for 2 minutes.
11. Using a sharp knife, cut the pork into 5mm slices and serve immediately with pomegranate, apple, rocket, spring onion, Chinese pancakes and sweet bean sauce.


THE STORY BEHIND THIS RECIPE
When I was young, all I wanted to do was fit in - but I was different. I was brought up by my grandparents in a traditional Chinese household, and my childhood in the England was one of mixed identities.

My family moved from Hong Kong to England when I was five years old and at first I found it very hard to fit in, especially at lunch times. In primary school, while my school friends were tucking into cold, sad sandwiches with flaccid slithers of processed ham and cheese, I sat with my steaming thermos flask of Cantonese congee with minced pork and century egg. During my first school trip to a theme park, instead of sending me with bags of crisps and cartons of juice, my grandma dutifully packed a small box of freshly steamed dim sum and a flask of jasmine tea.

I might not have appreciated it then, but I now embrace my mismatched jumble of a food identity. While being ethnically Chinese, I am British through and through. The cuisine in this country fascinates me – exotic and foreign flavours from the British Empire evolve and transform to accommodate local palates, resulting in brand new dishes which are a reflection of the mixed cultures which create them.

This recipe is my food identity - a British variant on the Chinese banquet dish, Peking duck. It harmonises the classic British pairing of pork belly and apple with the bold, fresh and clean flavours of Chinese. The act of slow cooking and caramelising crackling reflects the extravagant and celebratory role of food at a Chinese banquet. It is imperative that this dish is shared with family and friends, with the pork carved at the table in front of everyone. Food is to be shared, loved and celebrated. For a short moment, this ritual at the dinner table brings us all closer together.