Vietnamese Pork belly Tacos

Caramel sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick

• 2 whole star anise

• 1 tbsp fish or oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 4 tbsp rice vinegar

• ½ tsp white pepper

• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

• Combine the fish or oyster sauce, white pepper, soy sauce, lime juice, and rice vinegar, shallots, and scallion, and set aside
• Fill your sink with enough water to come halfway up the side of a 1-quart saucepan.
• Place the sugar, water, cinnamon and star anise into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat.
• Stir until the sugar dissolves, indicated by a clear solution.
• Continue cooking for about 15 minutes; the color should progress from clear to green tea to strong tea. Remove star anise and cinnamon and continue cooking until deep red.
• When smoke starts rising, remove the saucepan from the heat and keep it moving by slowly swirling. Once the color under the bubbles looks like black coffee or molasses, place the pan in the sink to stop the cooking process.
• Add the other ingredients, and return the pan to the cooktop over medium heat, stirring until the catamel has dissolved.
• Can and store.

Sticky pork belly

• About 2 pounds pork belly
• The above-prepared caramel sauce
• Thinly sliced red fryer (4) or bell (2) peppers
• Black pepper to taste

• Heat oven to 320F
• Lay the pork, skin-side up, on a rack in a roasting tin.
• Trickle with a little sesame oil and press in pepper
• Place in the oven, then cook for 1 hr.
• Remove from the oven and baste with the juices.
• Continue to cook for a further 1½ hrs, basting every 20 mins.
• Put sliced red peppers in the roasting tin under the pork.
• Brush the caramel sauce over the pork, then increase the oven to 350F
• Cook for a further 30-40 mins, basting occasionally, until caramelised with a rich, golden glaze over the pork.
• Once cooked and tender (this can be easily tested by piercing the flesh with a knife), remove pork from the oven, then leave to rest for 10-15 mins.
• While the pork is resting, heat the tin on the stove with the peppers, adding 2 tbsp water and 1 tbsp soy sauce. This will lift any residue from the pan, creating a moist cooking liquor.
• Slice the pork small, then serve with the peppers and slaw on top of buns.
• Pour any remaining liquor over and serve with rice

Slaw

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Buns

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