Pork belly in master stock

Serves 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time:
4 hours 40 minutes
(4 hours is totally hands off)

Ingredients
2kg pork belly 
2 tbsp cornflour 
1 litre of flavourless oil 
3 Tbsp soft brown sugar or honey 
½ tsp crushed chillies 
Juice of ½ lime 
450ml master stock 
1 tbsp hoisin sauce 

For the Master Stock  
2 litres of chicken stock 
150ml dark soy sauce 
150ml light soy sauce 
100ml shaoxing rice wine 
2 star anise 
2 cinnamon sticks 
½ tsp Szechuan peppercorns 
1 heaped tbsp rock sugar 
2 pieces tangerine peel or 2 tbsp tangerine chips 
2 cloves 
½ tsp white peppercorns 
80g ginger 
4 spring onions 
4 garlic cloves 
1 black cardamom pod 
1 tsp sesame oil 

Method
Put all the ingredients for the master stock into a very large saucepan, bring to the boil and then simmer for 25 minutes.  The saucepan needs to be large enough for your stock and your pork. 

Meanwhile put the pork into a large saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil.  Lower the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.  This step is important as it pulls the impurities out of the pork.  After the 10 minutes, take out of the water carefully and rinse so no impurities are left on the pork. 

Put the pork into the master stock, reduce the heat to low and cook with the lid on for 1 hour.  Keep an eye on the pork as you may need to top up with water to ensure the pork stays under the liquid.  The top of the liquid should just have a little movement, it should not be boiling or simmering.

After 1 hour take your pork out of the liquid and leave until just cool enough to handle. 

While the pork is cooling make your sticky sauce.  Put all of the rest of the ingredients into a large pot, bring to the boil and cook on medium high until it is thickish and sticky.  This took me 10 minutes. 

Cut your pork into 3cm chunks and put to one side.  Dust the pieces in cornflour while you heat the oil in a wok.  When the oil is hot, add the pork pieces a few pieces at a time - you do not want the oil to bubble up and over.  This will only take a few minutes per batch.  Be very careful it will spit.  When cooked put onto a plate lined with kitchen towel. 

Serve with jasmine rice and stir fried pak or bok choi. 

The idea of a master stock is to make it then use it to poach with and then you keep it to re-use it again and again (think sour dough starter).  The deep rich flavours will develop over time and it improves with age.  You can either keep in the fridge for a week or freeze it.  Always boil before using when you first reuse it.