Adam Liaw’s turmeric and coconut baked pork belly

Name: Adam Liaw’s turmeric and coconut baked pork belly
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 1 brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped; 5 cloves garlic, peeled; 3cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped; 3 large red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped; ¼ cup vegetable oil; 1 tsp turmeric powder; 1.2kg pork belly, deboned and skin removed, cut into 5cm strips; ¼ cup fish sauce; 3 tbsp sugar; 200ml coconut cream; 2 tsp fried shallots, to serve; 1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced, to serve; 2 tomatoes, sliced, to serve

Adam Liaw

July 25, 2023

Turmeric and coconut baked pork belly.William Meppem

Time:1-2 hoursServes:4

Turmeric and coconut are a fabulous flavour combination found across south-east Asia. Here, they’re combined in a simple Balinese-ish pork bake that would be perfect with some steamed rice.

Ingredients

1 brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled
3cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 large red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
1.2kg pork belly, deboned and skin removed, cut into 5cm strips
¼ cup fish sauce
3 tbsp sugar
200ml coconut cream
2 tsp fried shallots, to serve
1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced, to serve
2 tomatoes, sliced, to serve

Method

Step 1
Heat your oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Combine the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies in a blender or food processor and blend to a paste. Heat a deep, ovenproof frying pan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the paste and fry for about 10 minutes until very fragrant. Add the turmeric and mix to combine. Add the pork belly strips and turn to coat in the mixture. Add the fish sauce, sugar, coconut cream and about ½ a cup of water. Stir to combine, then transfer to the oven for 1 hour, turning the pork every 20 minutes.
Step 2
Remove the pork and set aside to rest. If the liquid is too watery, bring to a simmer and reduce. Slice the pork, pour over some cooking liquid as a sauce and serve with fried shallots, sliced cucumber and sliced tomato.

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