Roasted pork belly with pickled green mango

Filipinos have an appetite for pork and, as such, the country has mastered the pig in every shape and form.

Credit: Derek Swalwell

• serves

  6

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  2 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 garlic bulb, peeled, cloves roughly chopped
• 2 long red chillies, roughly chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, roughly chopped
• 1.5 kg boneless pork belly, skin on
• 60 g (¼ cup) fine sea salt
• 1 bunch (about 300 g) spring onions
• 1 pineapple, peeled, cut into 1.5 cm-thick rounds
• olive oil, to drizzle

Pickled green mango

• 125 ml (½ cup) coconut or rice vinegar (see Note)
• 60 g (¼ cup) fine sea salt
• 3 green mangoes (see Note) peeled, cut into
• 1 cm-wide strips
• 330 g (1½ cups) caster sugar
• 60 ml (¼ cup) mild-flavoured beer, such as ale 

Resting time 15 minutes

Pickling and marinating overnight

Instructions

To make pickled green mango, place vinegar and salt in a large bowl and stir until salt dissolves. Add green mango, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (the mango will leech liquid).

Using a mortar and pestle, pound garlic, chilli, lemongrass and ¼ tsp salt to a paste. Season with pepper.

Using a small knife, score pork skin widthways with cuts about 1.5 cm apart. Turn pork skin-side down and rub garlic mixture into flesh, then turn over and scatter sea salt all over skin. Place in a large baking dish and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight to dry skin.

To continue making pickled green mango, place sugar and 375 ml water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium–high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves, then remove from heat. Transfer mango to a large sterilised jar (see Cooking Notes), then pour over sugar syrup and beer. Refrigerate until needed. Pickle will keep in fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Preheat oven to 160°C. Remove pork from refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Place spring onions and pineapple in a large roasting pan, then place pork belly, skin-side up, on top. Drizzle with olive oil, rubbing into skin and sides. Roast pork for 1½ hours, then increase heat to 200°C and roast for a further 30 minutes or until skin is blistered and crisp. Remove from pan and set aside to rest for 15 minutes. Serve with pickled green mango.

Notes

• Coconut vinegar is from Filipino food stores.

• Green mangoes are from Asian greengrocers.

Photography Derek Swalwell

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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.