Braised Pork Belly

My fiance and I went grocery shopping the other day. At one point, he walked up to me with a big smile on his face (much like a kid wanting sweets at the candy store), pork belly in hand. I "don't eat anything with four legs" (ala Gwyneth Paltrow on Oprah), so of course I gave him a weird look. Who wants to eat all that fat anyways? I didn't want to deny him...how could I say no to such a face?

I know he dreamed of deep frying the pork belly, but he went the practical route and found a Five Spice Braised Pork Belly recipe from Chez Pim. Apparently, Chez Pim is a foodie who was a judge on Iron Chef America. I'm a big Iron Chef fan...the original Japanese version of course. I used to wake up early in the morning to watch it on public television when I was young.

Anyways, the recipe was pretty easy and very doable. Just make sure that you have more than three hours of free time. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, which is alot for fish sauce because it is really pungent. It stunk up the kitchen and the rest of the apartment pretty good. So if you make this dish, make sure you have good ventilation and lots of air freshener.

Above, Five Spice Braised Pork Belly

The only thing I did different from this recipe was frying the skin to make it crispy after braising the pork. I also served it with my refreshing cucumber and apple slaw. I figured the saltiness and fishiness of the pork should go well with the sweet and sour flavors of the slaw.

I thought the pork belly sauce may have been a tad too salty (I didn't taste it with the pork though), but my fiance loved it and said it went well with the pork belly. Who doesn't like layers of fat, topped with a crispy skin? Certainly not him!