Char siu pork buns

Ready in 3 hours Makes 10

3 cloves garlic, crushed

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup hoisin sauce

¼ cup mirin

3 Tbsp honey or sugar

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp five-spice powder

750g-1kg boneless pork belly

TO SERVE

10 steamed buns (see above) or burger

buns, warmed

Salad fixings of your choice, such as shredded cabbage, sliced cucumber, spring onions, bean sprouts and coriander leaves

Dressings of your choice, such as sriracha or japanese mayonnaise

To make the char siu pork, combine garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, mirin, honey or sugar, ginger, sesame oil and five-spice powder in a pot that will fit the pork snugly and stir to dissolve honey or sugar.

Add the pork and enough water to just cover. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over a low heat for 2½ hours. Cool in its sauce. Transfer to a carving board and cut into 10 slices.

Fill the pork slices into warm buns with salad fixings and dressings.

If not using the pork at once, chill in the cooking liquid. Cut off slices as needed and heat through for 1-2 minutes on each side in a heated frying pan with a little oil.

NOTE: Use any leftover char siu pork in fried rice, noodle bowls or stir-fries.

Match this with ... Swift Wines Albarino 2023 ($36)

While it hails from Portugal and Galicia in Spain, albarino has, (ever since Coopers Creek made one barrel of it in Gisborne back in 2011), found itself a happy home in pretty much every wine region across our Antipodean motu. This is Lauren Swift’s debut vintage using organically grown grapes from the Mangatahi Terraces, west of Hastings, and it’s a doozy. Roaring with yellow plum, fresh apple, ripe lemon and orange oil on the nose and palate and its texture is accentuated by a splash of skin contact and a wild ferment in barrel. It’s fresh, zesty, fruitsaturated and finishes with a lick of salinity and it’s beyond perfect with these sticky pork buns. swiftwines.co.nz

— Yvonne Lorkin