Get In Ma Belly

Pork. It’s been in the media a bit lately, thanks to our mate Jamie Oliver who likes to fight for the underdog in his matey way. But Jamie has a point.  Sometimes it’s important to take stock of what you are eating before you put the fork in your mouth. I believe that the old saying you are what you eat rings true. So often do I see 10-year-old boys looking like a chicken nugget. Lumpy, greasy and moist, sitting with tight track pants hoisted up their thighs to make those rolls more comfortable while figuring out ways to play Wii tennis without moving.  I have begun to think that I really don’t want to be eating anything that will decrease my chances of making it as a reality TV star.

Pork is one of those meats. And I’m actually not talking about the fattiness of the meat, but the conditions that it is reared in. I’m not sure I want to be eating anything that can’t turn around, run, burrow or exercise a bit of free will.  It worries me that by eating it, I’m simultaneously lowering my IQ, happiness and mental health whilst supporting an awful, awful industry. That said, I do, on occasion eat non-free range pork and I wish it was the other way. But as you’ll see from the article link (here), it’s easier said than done. To eat free range pork you really have to source it out and it’s not cheap. Most, if not all markets and supermarkets don’t stock it, they may say they do, but due to the fact its an unregulated industry, there are a couple of brands (in Australia) that claim to be “bred free range pork” with the emphasis on the bred, not the free range, that in reality are little more than happy mums, not happy piglets. And it’s the piglets we’re eating. Farmers markets are a different story, but even then, it’s hard.

So. Here is a yummy recipe for pork belly, something that will impress I’m sure, particularly if you’ve got a group to feed.  However, I suggest that you hunt down some free-range pork to eat it with. And if you can’t find it, tell your butcher or the fat guy at the markets that you want it. If enough people do, hopefully one day it will be the norm.

Get in ma belly – Pork belly with stir-fried Asian greens (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 kilo of pork belly

Marinade:

3 table spoons finely grated ginger (a thumb sized knob)

2 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup water

Stir-fry:

Bok Choy

Green beans

1 eggplant cut into little cubes

4-5 large mushrooms

1 lemon

1 clove of garlic

Grated ginger (the same amount as in my marinade)

Soy sauce

(You can use any veges that you like/are in season for the stir fry)

Serve with rice

Method:

1. Marinate the pork belly in the marinade from anywhere between ½ an hour and over night.

2. To cook the pork, preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius and place the pork in an oven tray skin up. Cover the tray with tin foil and roast for 1-½ hours. Then turn down the oven to 160 degrees and cook uncovered for another 30 mins.

3. Put the rice on when the pork has been in the oven for 1-½ hours.

4. For the stir-fry, chop the veges up into bit sized pieces. Then put the eggplant in a saucepan of salted boiling water for about 5 mins (until tender).

5. Stir-fry all the veges (including the egg plant) with finely chopped garlic,  the grated rind of 1 lemon and the grated ginger. Add the juice of one lemon and 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce after the veges have been cooking for a couple of minutes.  After about 5 mins they should be done (use your intuition here, the veges should still be bright green but they should have softened some what).

6. To serve, carve the pork belly into 6 pieces and serve on top of rice. Drizzle the juices from the roasting tin over top and serve with the stir-fried Asian greens.