Sweet, juicy meat and an impossibly crunchy skin that’ll have the neighbours wondering what all the noise is coming from your place. Asian-style roast pork that takes a little preparation, but pays off in the end.

And I don’t only have one suggestion of serving it, I have three!

The first and easiest way to dish it up is just like your regular roast; sliced and served with gravy, your choice of veg and that golden sheet of crackling.

The point of difference here is the marinade I’ve used. It’s based on my dongpo pork recipe from several years ago – a richly spiced concoction that adds a fragrance to the juicy meat.

Even the marinate that’s used doesn’t end up down the sink when it has done it’s job. I’ve turned that into a rich gravy by adding coconut cream and reducing it down a tad. So much flavour!

If traditional roast pork with veg sounds a little ordinary, then why not tear it up, toss it with its juices or a little of that gravy and whack it into a crusty baguette? A few bok choy leaves, a good crack of black pepper – oh and don’t forget to sneak in some of the crackling.

Finally, we’ve all had Peking duck pancakes, right? Well then why not do away with the duck and use juicy nubs of pork, instead?

I love duck pancakes at the best of times. They’re interactive, fun to make and so delicious. You’d have to be mad to make the pancakes from scratch. Ok, not mad, just determined. When you can grab packets of perfectly made pancakes in the freezer at almost any Asian grocer, why not just do it?

Traditionally they’re served with hoisin sauce, straight up. My personal twist on that is mixing peanut butter through the hoisin, diluting it with a little water and mixing it all up until smooth. So much better, in my opinion.

The only other things you need is julienned cucumber and green onions. Oh, and lots of cold beer. That makes everything much better, doesn’t it?

Tip – If there’s any of the gravy left over, mix it with several chicken drumsticks, put it into a small roasting dish, and bake it all until cooked through.

*Pork supplied by Murray Valley Pork

Print Recipe

Asian-style roast pork - done 3 ways

Why do pork one way when you can do a three-way?

Cuisine

Chinese

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 1½ kg pork (rack with rind on)
• 500 ml boiling water
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp salt

Marinade

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or peanut oil
• 40 g fresh ginger finely chopped
• 2 whole spring onions finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 4 whole star anise
• 1 stick cinnamon (7 cm)
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 250 ml light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 60 ml honey (¼ cup)
• 250 ml shaoxing wine (1 cup)
• 250 ml coconut cream (1 cup)

Cuisine Chinese Servings servings Ingredients 1½ kg pork (rack with rind on) 500 ml boiling water 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp salt Marinade 2 tbsp vegetable oil or peanut oil 40 g fresh ginger finely chopped 2 whole spring onions finely chopped 4 cloves garlic finely chopped 4 whole star anise 1 stick cinnamon (7 cm) 3 tbsp brown sugar 250 ml light soy sauce 1 tbsp molasses 60 ml honey (¼ cup) 250 ml shaoxing wine (1 cup) 250 ml coconut cream (1 cup)

Instructions

1. Lay the pork, skin-side up on a wire rack in the sink. Slowly pour the boiling water over the skin. Allow it to drain, then pat it dry with paper kitchen towels.
2. Put the dried pork onto a plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for a couple of hours.
3. Meanwhile, make the marinade. Recipe below
4. When the pork has refrigerated for 2 hours, remove it from the fridge and score the skin with a very sharp knife. Turn the pork over and stab the flesh side many times so that the marinade can penetrate.
5. Find a dish with high sides that will hold the pork very snuggly. I use a plastic container. Pour the cooled marinade into the dish then carefully lay the pork, flesh-side down, into the marinade. Basically you want the flesh to be covered with the marinade, but the skin needs to be completely dry.
6. Refrigerate the pork in the marinade overnight. If any of the marinate splashes onto the skin, wipe it off to keep the skin completely dry.

To cook the pork

1. The following day, remove the pork from the fridge and leave it in the marinade. Let it sit out of the fridge to come to room temperature - about 2-3 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
3. Carefully remove the pork from the marinade and sit it on a wire rack on top of a roasting pan. Reserve the marinade. See notes.
4. Rub the 1 tbsp sesame oil onto the skin then rub the salt into the skin as well, making sure you get the salt into the cuts. Roast the pork for 1½ to 2 hours, or until tender. Test it by piercing it with a skewer or thin sharp knife. The juices should be just clear.
5. Turn the oven temperature up to 220°C and keep it roasting for 15-20 minutes. This will crisp up the skin and get it crackling.
6. If the skin doesn't crackle, remove the pork from the oven and cut the skin from the flesh. Wrap the meat in foil immediately to keep it hot and to prevent losing its juices.
7. Lay the skin back onto the roasting rack, baste it with a little of the oil drippings and put it back into the oven until crackled.
8. When it's all done, either slice up the meat or shred it - depending whether you're making sandwiches or rolls. Be sure to keep those juices that were in the foil or on the board and mix them through the shredded meat.

Marinade

1. Put a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, ginger, onions and garlic and cook for two minutes, stirring frequently.
2. n the sugar and keep stirring until it dissolves and caramelises - about 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the soy sauce, molasses, honey and shaoxing (not the coconut cream) and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and allow the marinade to cool completely before using.
5. This is now your gravy.

Recipe Notes

After the marinade has been used and the pork is in the oven, remove the star anise and cinnamon and discard them. Put the marinade into a medium saucepan along with the 250 ml coconut cream. Bring it to a boil and then simmer gently for 30 minutes.

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