Crispy pork belly and grapefruit salad

Name: Crispy pork belly and grapefruit salad
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 1.5kg piece of pork belly, skin scored; 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped; ½ tsp white pepper; 2 tbsp salt; 1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented, no pith; 1 carrot, julienned; 1 Lebanese cucumber, julienned; 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 red onion, thinly shaved; 1 cup coriander leaves; 1 cup mint leaves; 1 large red chilli, finely sliced; juice of 2 limes; 2 tbsp palm sugar; 2 tbsp fish sauce; ¼ cup fried Asian shallots

Adam Liaw

May 25, 2021

Crispy pork belly and grapefruit salad.William Meppem

Time:2 hours +Serves:4-6

A lot of crispy pork belly salads ask you to boil the pork first, then deep- or shallow-fry it. To my mind that's far too labour-intensive and often produces stringy, dry pork belly. Just roast it instead.

Ingredients

1.5kg piece of pork belly, skin scored
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp white pepper
2 tbsp salt
1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented, no pith
1 carrot, julienned
1 Lebanese cucumber, julienned
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, thinly shaved
1 cup coriander leaves
1 cup mint leaves
1 large red chilli, finely sliced
juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
¼ cup fried Asian shallots

Method

1. Rub the meat side of the pork with the garlic and pepper and place on a tray. Scatter the salt over the skin side of the pork and leave uncovered in the fridge overnight.
2. Heat your oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Brush off the excess salt and roast the pork for 45 minutes. Switch your oven to an overhead grill and grill for 10-15 minutes until the skin resembles crisp crackling. Allow to rest for 15 minutes, then turn the pork skin-side down on a chopping board and cut into large cubes with a heavy knife.
3. Combine the grapefruit, carrot, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, coriander, mint and chilli in a large bowl. Mix together the lime juice, palm sugar and fish sauce. The dressing should taste sweet, as the grapefruit will provide additional sourness. Toss the pork belly and dressing through the salad ingredients, then transfer to a serving plate. Scatter with the shallots to serve.
Also try: Adam Liaw's chilli tuna and sesame noodles
Find more of Adam Liaw's recipes in the Good Food New Classics cookbook.
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