Tonight, pork belly (freezer stock) stir fry . . .
Mise En Place & Hatsukokoro Komorebi Blue #2 Gyuto, 210mmDark soy sauce, avocado oil, 4x gelatinous pork stock, freshly toasted/ground Sichuan peppercorns, 5-spice powder, 5-year black vinegar, reconstituted shiitake caps, scallions, shallots, long hot pepper, celery, 3-hour-slow-roasted pork belly, minced ginger, orange bell pepper, chopped garlic, broccoli florets, white pepper, chu hou paste, Shaoxing cooking wine and soy sauce.
Just decided to wing it here and yes, it clearly got out of control. So many ingredients -- and the picture doesn't even include the corn starch I used to thicken the whole business or the shiitake soaking liquid -- but I really wanted to use some stuff up. Happily, it worked out pretty nicely. And the shiitakes were a last minute addition. I remembered I had some fresh ones but I bought them a while ago, so they effectively became dried in the paper bag I was storing them in. No problem. A little hot water, a 2-hour soak, a gentle squeeze and they were good to go.
As for the belly, that 3-hour slow cook was right on the money. The belly was unctuous and tender but still firm enough to cut into cubes, and it stayed intact during the stir-frying.
Pork Belly & Veg Stir FryPlated UpWith leftover/reheated jasmine rice and some spicy-sweet cucumber salad. This one turned out really well. The way these things go, I'll probably never do the exact same thing again but if I did, the only thing I'd change would be to add a bit more of the vinegar. It goes a long way but the belly was super rich and it could have tolerated a bit more acid. This time around, I just dashed a bit more on at the table.
=R=
Same planet, different world