Five Spice Pork Belly

Five Spice Pork Belly is a rich blend of cubed pork braised in a spicy tomato sauce. As well as Chinese flavours like five spice mix and Shaoxing rice wine, there’s a Thai influence too. The best of both worlds!

Try Five Spice Pork Belly with coconut rice topped with crispy onions plus lots of stir-fried greens.

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As you might guess from its title, this easy recipe for a rich pork dish uses Chinese five spice powder. But it isn’t a wholly Chinese dish.

That’s because there’s a Thai influence too with the inclusion of fish sauce and lime juice.

Chinese Five Spice Powder

You could make your own Chinese five spice mix, but I confess I buy mine.

The spices usually found in there are Sichuan pepper, star anise, cinnamon, fennel, and cloves. But it can sometimes include other spices like black pepper, nutmeg, and ginger.

However, when I did a bit of research to see if the mix was authentically Chinese, I found that it doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to five spices.

I discovered that its origins are said to lie in the desire for a balance of five flavours rather than individual spices. These flavours are salty, spicy (sometimes called pungent), sour, sweet and bitter.

In Chinese medicine, this harmony of five flavours is said to promote health. But while I can’t promise you that, I think I can offer you a pretty enjoyable meal with this recipe.

In my Five Spice Pork Belly, the spices form an incredible sauce with tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, Thai fish sauce, Chinese Shaoxing rice wine and dark soy sauce.

Belly Pork

I use free-range belly pork for this dish as it has bags of flavour. In part, that’s due to the relatively high level of fat. You could use a leaner cut, but the results just won’t be the same in terms of taste or the silky texture of the spicy sauce.

You could get a slab of belly pork, but I use thick slices like these from The Village Butcher Ipstones. Just remove any bones and cut it into chunky dice.

As the skin doesn’t get crispy in this recipe, you might be tempted to remove it before cooking. But I’d urge you not to.

Perhaps you think, as I used to, that it’s a crime for any pork skin not to be given the chance to turn into crispy crackling?

But I make an exception in this case. Try leaving it on and see just how good the soft, slightly gelatinous skin becomes when imbued with all the good things it’s braised in.

Easy Five Spice Pork Belly

Given the impressive results, you might be surprised how easy my Five Spice Pork Belly is.

I make it in my latest favourite thing: an electric wok. But you could use a regular wok or a large frying pan. Whichever you use, it’ll need a lid.

I start off by sautéing onions, followed by garlic, ginger, finely chopped coriander stems and fennel seeds. Yes, I know there’s already fennel in the Chinese five spice mix, but I love it!

The five spice mix, along with some dried chilli flakes, go in next. They’re shortly followed by the cubed pork belly which is stirred around until it takes on all those lovely spices and is nicely brown.

All that’s left to do then is add a tin of chopped tomatoes, water, a good dose each of fish sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, dark soy sauce (richer and less salty than light soy sauce). I also add a little sugar for balancing sweetness.

You’ll want to gently simmer it until the pork is meltingly soft. I find this takes between 30 and 45 minutes.

By that time, the sauce should be thick, shiny and taste wonderful. If it looks a little thin, bubble with the lid off for a few minutes.

Check the seasoning, tinker a little by adding more fish, soy sauce or sugar. When it’s just right, stir in a squeeze of lime and some coriander leaf, and Five Spice Pork Belly is ready to serve.

SERVING FIVE SPICE PORK BELLY

I think creamy coconut rice is the perfect accompaniment to pungent, salty, umami rich Five Spice Pork Belly.

Just cook the rice with half coconut milk, half water. Half a teaspoon each of ground coriander and ground cinnamon is nice too. When the rice is almost cooked and nearly all the liquid absorbed, take it off the heat and leave it to sit, with a lid on. It should be perfectly cooked in five minutes or so.

If you can, it’s worth taking the time to deep fry little rings of onion until golden. As well as the extra flavour, they bring moreish crispy texture.

Stir-fried, iron-rich greens, slightly bitter, are good alongside too.

Besides nutrition and contrast, I think the greens nicely add the last of those Chinese balancing flavours: salty, spicy, sour, sweet and bitter.

Served with my suggested accompaniments, including a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, Five Spice Pork Belly really does have it all.

Have you made Five Spice Pork Belly? Leave a comment & rate the recipe below.

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Five Spice Pork Belly

Cubed pork belly braised in a rich & spicy tomato sauce that combines Chinese & Thai flavours.

Try it with coconut rice topped with crispy fried onion rings plus stir-fried greens, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese, Thai, World

Keyword pork belly, chinese food, thai food

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings 2 - 3 generously

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil e.g. groundnut
• 2 medium onions skinned & roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped or grated
• 2 cm ginger root peeled & finely chopped or grated
• 1 tsp fennel seeds lightly crushed
• small bunch coriander stems chopped finely, leaves roughly
• 4 tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 0.5 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 500 g pork belly boneless, cut into 2cm cubes
• freshly ground black pepper
• 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 200 ml water
• 3 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 lime juice only

Instructions

1. Put a wok or large frying pan over moderate heat (it will need a lid later).

   When hot, add the oil.

2. Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring often, until they're softening and starting to brown (10-12 min).

3. Stir in the garlic, ginger, fennel seeds and finely chopped coriander stems.

   Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Add the Chinese five spice powder and dried chilli flakes and stir for a further minute.

5. Add the diced pork belly, season with freshly ground black pepper and stir to coat it in the aromatics.

   Stir-fry until the pork is nicely browned.

6. Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the coriander leaf and lime juice.

   Stir well, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer. Put a lid on.

7. Simmer gently until the pork belly is very tender (30-45 min).

   Check regularly and add more water if it's getting dry.

8. The sauce should be rich and thick. If necessary, take off the lid and allow it to bubble and reduce for a few minutes.

9. Taste, and add more seasoning if needed e.g. more fish sauce or chilli flakes.

   Take off the heat, squeeze in the lime juice and stir in the coriander before serving with rice and stir-fried greens.