Pork belly ‘yuk sung’ lettuce wraps

Pork belly becomes fall-apart tender after a long, slow roast in the oven, and here, in a sticky sauce, it's perfect served as Chinese-style yuk sung lettuce wraps.

Pork belly ‘yuk sung’ lettuce wraps. Credit: Donal's Family Food in Minutes

• serves

  6

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  3:15 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

For the pork

• 1 onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1.5 kg pork belly, skin removed
• 3 star anise
• 5 cm piece fresh ginger, grated
• 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• ¼ cup (60 ml) dark soy sauce
• ¼ cup (60 ml) oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (45 ml) rice wine or dry sherry
• 3 tsp soft brown sugar
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) sesame oil, divided
• 2 tsp five-spice powder

For the salad

• 1 bunch spring onions, trimmed
• 2 carrots, peeled and shredded finely
• 1 stalk celery, very finely sliced
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
• 1½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds, to serve
• Hoisin sauce, to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Arrange the onions on a tray and place the pork on top. Combine the star anise, ginger, garlic, soy, oyster, rice wine, sugar and 3 tsp sesame oil in a bowl with the five spice. Pour over the pork and rub in.
3. Cover with foil and roast for 3-3.5 hours until really tender.
4. Meanwhile, shred the spring onions and put into a bowl of iced water to crisp and curl up. Toss the carrot and celery with the vinegar, a pinch of sugar and remaining 3 tsp of sesame oil.
5. Once the pork belly is very tender and falling apart, skim off any fat from the roasting tin then use two forks to shred it into the remaining sauce and allow to cool a little.
6. Serve the lettuce leaves piled with the sticky pork belly, the crispy spring onions and pickled vegetables, wrap up and devour.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.