Chinese five spice pork belly

Chinese Five Spice Pork Belly

Who doesn't love a stir-fry? A great fallback and the family loves it. You should have most of the ingredients on hand, and, if not, it should be relatively easy to source. The noodles pad the dish out nicely.

We sometimes found it difficult to source fresh egg noodles so substitute the dried variety; just remember to soften them in boiling water first.

Substitute the peanut oil with any other flavourless oil if you aren't carrying any.

Serve with rice as an accompaniment.

serves 4

For the pork belly:
2 pork belly slices about 1 1/2 to 2cm thick
1 tsp Chinese five spice
1 tbl peanut oil
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of light soy sauce
1 clove of garlic
1 cm knob of fresh ginger

For the stir-fried noodles:
500g fresh egg noodles (or dried equivalent)
2 tbl peanut oil
1 onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 cm knob of fresh ginger, minced
2 medium carrots
1 red capsicum
Fresh coriander, to serve

Start by marinating the pork belly. Mix the Chinese five spice, honey, soy sauce together. Smash the garlic clove and chop the ginger in half to release the flavours and add them to the marinade (you'll want to fish the garlic and ginger out later so make sure they are in manageable sizes). Pour over the pork belly and marinate for at least 30 minutes (ideally a couple of hours).

When ready, remove the pork belly and barbecue until cooked (about 8 minutes). Reserve the marinade but discard the garlic and ginger.

For the stir-fried noodles, prepare the vegetables. Cut the onion into eighths and dice the carrots and capsicum into bit-size pieces.

Heat up a wok or frying pan and add 1 tbl of oil. With a high heat, add the onions and stir-fry quickly. Add the carrots and capsicum and cook until hot but still with a bite. Add the garlic and ginger, fry for a further minute then remove.

Heat up a wok again and add the remaining oil. Once hot, add the noodles and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the vegetables back along with the marinade and a couple of tablespoons of water and toss together for a minute.

When ready, slice the pork belly width-ways and serve on top of the stir-fry noodles. Garnish with some roughly chopped coriander.

TIP: The secret to a great stir-fry is to toss what you are frying through the flame. If you have a powerful enough burner, tilt the wok or frying pan towards the flame and toss through. This should add a nice smokey taste to the stir-fry dish.