Slow cooker red-braised pork belly

Inspired by Chinese hong shao rou: pork belly glazed in caramel and braised with soy, ginger and star anise until meltingly soft. Serve with rice and greens and let the sticky sauce do the rest.

Ingredients

• 1000 g Pork belly, skin on or off, cut into 4cm chunks
• 15 ml Vegetable oil
• 40 g Soft brown sugar
• 60 ml Soy sauce
• 30 g Fresh ginger, sliced
• 0.4 Garlic, cloves bashed
• 2 g Star anise
• 1 Cinnamon sticks
• 4 Spring onions, 2 cut into lengths, 2 sliced to serve
• 300 g Jasmine rice
• 300 g Pak choi, halved

Method

1. Put the pork in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse. This keeps the sauce clean.
2. Heat the oil and sugar in a large frying pan until the sugar melts and turns amber. Add the pork and toss for 5 minutes until glossy and browned. Take care: hot caramel spits.
3. Tip the pork into the slow cooker with the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, the spring onion lengths and 300ml water.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours until the pork is very tender.
5. Lift the pork out with a slotted spoon. Pour the liquid into a pan, spoon off the fat and boil hard for 10 minutes until syrupy, then return the pork and toss to coat.
6. While the sauce reduces, cook the rice following the packet (about 12 minutes) and steam the pak choi for 3 minutes.
7. Pile the pork over the rice with the pak choi alongside and scatter with sliced spring onions.