PORK Glazed Pork Belly in Lettuce Cups
Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Total time: 4¼ hours
Makes: 6 servings
Pork belly is easier to prepare than you might think. Like bacon, pork belly will splatter as it sears, so use a splatter screen if you have one. Cool the braised pork belly entirely for easier slicing. If you don’t want to use the lettuce cups, serve these tasty morsels over a simple bed of rice. Sprinkle with sliced green onions.
340 g pork belly
1½ cups sodium-reduced chicken broth
½ cup sake
⅓ cup sodium-reduced soy sauce
¼ cup liquid honey
1 star anise
1 cup short-grain rice, rinsed
12 leaves iceberg lettuce In Dutch oven or large heavybottomed saucepan, sear pork over medium-high heat until light golden, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to plate. Drain and discard fat from pan. In same pan, stir together broth, sake, 2 tbsp of the soy sauce, 1 tbsp of the honey and the star anise. Add pork; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, turning once, until pork is tender, about 2½ hours. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl and let cool slightly; discard liquid. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.) Cut pork into 24 thin bite-size pieces. While pork is chilling, cook rice according to package instructions; keep warm. Whisk together remaining soy sauce, honey and 3 tbsp water. Spoon 1 tbsp of the soy sauce mixture over pork; toss to coat. Whisk 3 tbsp water into remaining soy sauce mixture. In nonstick skillet, sear pork over medium-high heat, turning once, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in remaining soy sauce mixture; cook, stirring until reduced slightly, about 1 minute. Divide rice among lettuce leaves; top each with 2 slices of the pork. Drizzle with any remaining soy sauce mixture.
PER SERVING: about 462 cal, 9 g pro, 30 g total fat (11 g sat. fat), 39 g carb (1 g dietary fibre, 11 g sugar), 40 mg chol, 465 mg sodium, 241 mg potassium. % RDI: 2% calcium, 7% iron, 2% vit A, 3% vit C, 15% folate.