Braised Pork Belly with Turnips

Usually this is made with radishes, of the long white variety. Winter radishes, as they are sometimes called, and when we grow them they do indeed do best planted in mid to late summer and harvested just before frost, when they will then keep in the cold room for a month or two.

Unfortunately, we didn't grow any this year and although they should theoretically be available around now, if they are it isn't in this little hotbed of completely non-Asian food. Turnips, though, are very similar and replace them quite well. I suspect they might have taken a little longer to cook than radishes would have, so if you do manage to use radishes, start checking them a bit earlier on in the cooking process.

This is a tasty and complete dish - you may want to serve it with some rice - but it does lack in colour. A little chopped parsley, cilantro, or green onion, if you have any of those, sprinkled over the top, will perk it up considerably.

2 to 4 servings
1 hour 15 minutes - 30 minutes prep time

 

Start the Dish:
250 grams (1/2 pound) fresh pork belly
500 grams (1 pound) white turnips
1 tablespoon finely minced or grated fresh ginger
4 to 6 cloves of garlic

Cut the pork belly into bite-sized chunks. Put them in a large skillet or heavy-bottomed soup pot, and cook them over medium heat quite gently for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, peel and cut the turnips into bite-sized pieces. Peel and grate or mince the garlic and ginger.

Make the Sauce & Finish the Dish:
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sherry
1 teaspoon 5-spice powder
1 to 2 teaspoon chile-garlic sauce
1/2 to 3/4 cup water

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

When the meat has cooked for about 20 minutes, long enough to have rendered a fair amount of fat, lift the meat out of the pan with a slotted spoon. Drain off most of the fat, leaving just enough to keep the turnips from sticking, when added. Return the meat to the pan, and add the ginger and garlic. Cook for several minutes, stirring them into the meat until well distributed and fragrant.

Add the turnips and the sauce, with the smaller amount of water. Mix in well. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 20 minutes more. Stir every 5 minutes or so. If the sauce evaporates before the end of the cooking time, add a little more water, but the sauce should be reduced to thicken and coat the pork and turnips just around the end of the cooking time.

Serve with steamed rice.





Last year at this time I made Baked Apples Stuffed with Mincemeat. 

Posted in: Ontario Food