Mum’s Twice-cooked Pork Belly

Makes enough for 20–25 buns

• 1kg boneless pork belly, skin on*
• groundnut oil, for frying

For the marinade

• 2 tablespoons kecap manis (or, to substitute, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce and 1 tablespoon molasses)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
• 3 cubes of fermented beancurd
• 2 teaspoons ground white pepper

To serve

• steamed buns (see next recipe)**
• little gem lettuce leaves (or other crisp lettuce), or sliced cucumbers

1. Place the pork belly in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Skim off and discard any scum. Turn the heat down low so that the liquid is barely simmering, and let the pork poach gently for 2 hours. Drain, reserving the poaching broth for soups. Let the pork chill completely in the fridge for a few hours. That’s the only way you can get nice neat slices.
2. Meanwhile, simmer the ingredients for the marinade in a small pan over a low heat, stirring and mashing the fermented beancurd with the back of your spatula until everything is well mixed.
3. When the pork is cool enough to handle, cut it into 2cm thick slices. Place in a large resealable bag or container and pour the marinade over. Let sit for a day or even 2 days in the fridge, flipping the bag or container once to make sure everything marinates evenly.
4. The final step involves steaming the pork belly in its marinade. Arrange each slice of pork belly on a steamproof platter, and pour the marinade over. Prepare your steamer, bring the water to the boil, then set the platter on a rack set over the boiling water. Steam over a medium heat for 30 minutes.
5. To serve, sandwich a slice of pork belly, with lettuce or cucumber slices, inside a steamed bun. Eat while warm. Leftover pork belly tastes amazing simply served over plain rice too.