Braised Pork Belly With Thai Basil Tofu Food

PORK & HOLY BASIL STIR-FRY (PAD KRA PAO)

Steps:

• In a wok over medium high heat, add the oil, shallots and garlic, and fry for 3 minutes. Add the chilies and cook for another minute. Crank up the heat to high, and add the ground pork, breaking it up into small bits and allowing it to crisp up.
• Add the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Stir-fry for another minute and deglaze the pan with the broth or water. Because your pan is over high heat, the liquid should cook off very quickly. Add the basil, and stir-fry until wilted. Serve over rice.

THAI BASIL PORK BELLY

Steps:

• In a wok over medium heat, add the oil, garlic, and chilies. Cook for 1 minute. Crank up the heat to high, and add the pork belly. Stir-fry until caramelized and a little crisp, 2 minutes.
• Add the sugar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and soy sauces. Stir-fry for 1 minute, and add the basil. Stir-fry until the basil is wilted. Serve immediately.

TOFU WITH PORK BELLY AND KIMCHEE

Steps:

• Cut the tofu into rectangles and sprinkle with a little salt. Steam, saute or even microwave the tofu, just to heat it up.
• Heat a saute pan over high heat for 30 seconds. Add the sliced pork belly and cook for about 5 minutes, until cooked through. Add the kimchee, onion, jalapeno, green onion, garlic, sugar, oyster sauce, chile flakes, corn syrup and soy sauce. Saute for 3 minutes.
• Plate the tofu like dominoes and top with the kimchee-pork belly mixture. Drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with sesame seeds.

BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, carefully place one piece of pork in the saute pan and sear, turning once, until golden. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of pork. Set aside.
• Carefully add the beer to the drippings in the pan and cook, scraping up the cooked bits with a wooden spoon, until reduced.
• Heat the remaining 5 tablespoons of oil in a large flame-proof roasting pan over medium heat. Add the celery, onions, carrots, garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the pork to the roasting pan. Add the deglazed pan juices and enough chicken stock to cover the pork and vegetables. Add the peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and 2 generous pinches of salt. Cover the pan with foil and braise for 3 hours. Remove the foil and roast 30 minutes more. This will allow the pork to gain a beautiful color and for the braising liquid to reduce.
• Let the pork cool in the braising liquid for 30 minutes to increase tenderness. Remove the pork from the roasting pan and strain the braising liquid. Refrigerate separately until ready to use. The pork can be served sliced or shredded.