Monday, March 28, 2011

Grilled Pork Belly

I saw a recipe for grilled pork belly when I was looking through my Korean cookbook by Yongja Kim. I met her last spring at the restaurant show when I was invited to the Korean Pavilion for a tasting. I modified her recipe and combined it with several other recipes I found and the results were delicious.

I often find that it pays off to really study recipes in depth before you decide to cook a dish. Always go to the source - here my sources were Korean cooks rather than say a food magazine or no name cookbook. I have a large group of ethnic chefs that I email constantly about their native dishes. They are always willing to share.

I went to my butcher shop and although they did not have pork belly, the butcher cut me a thin slice of pork butt which I marinated overnight and grilled the next day. It was really good but I am still bent on trying this recipe with REAL pork belly next time. Stay tuned.

Bon Appetit!

Grilled Pork Belly
Serves 4

2 lbs pork belly, skinned
1 large or 2 small shallots, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
1 green onion, sliced, include greens
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 red chili, diced
1 tbsp grated lime peel
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice or white wine
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut the pork belly into 6-8 pieces.

Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Marinate the pork belly in the marinade overnight in the refrigerator, or for at least 2 hours.

Prepare grill for direct grilling (charcoal or gas).

When the grill is hot, place the pork belly on well-oiled grate.

Grill about 5 minutes per side, brushing on additional marinade as needed, until pork belly is browned and crispy.