Recipe: Sweet and sticky Thai stir-fried pork belly and mango salad

Ingredients

Pork
10ml (2 tsp) fresh ginger, finely grated
125ml (½ cup) soya sauce
60ml (¼ cup) rice vinegar
20ml (4 tsp) sugar
10ml (2 tsp) sesame oil
10ml (2 tsp) Chinese five-spice powder
240g (1 cup) mango flesh, puréed
2,5ml (½ tsp) chilli flakes (optional)
500g pork belly, rind removed and thinly sliced (like streaky bacon)

Salad
50g (½ cup) spring onions, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and julienned
1 small cucumber, julienned
3 stalks celery, leaves removed
240g (1½ cups) mango flesh, sliced
180ml (¾ cup) orange juice
30ml (2 tbsp) olive or avocado oil
5ml (1 tsp) fresh ginger, finely grated
60ml (¼ cup) sweet chilli sauce
250ml (1 cup) basil leaves
10ml (2 tsp) sesame seeds, toasted

Method

1. For the pork, whisk together all of the ingredients, except the pork belly, to make a marinade. Add the sliced pork belly pieces to the sauce and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight, depending on how much time you have.

2. Remove the pork strips from the marinade and cut into bite-size chunks. Fry in a wok until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened, 12 – 15 minutes. Do this in batches, as you don’t want to overcrowd the wok.

3. For the salad, toss the spring onions, carrots and cucumber together. Use a vegetable peeler to make celery shavings and combine with the rest of the vegetables. Toss in the mango pieces.

4. Whisk together the orange juice, oil, ginger and sweet chilli sauce, and pour this over the vegetables.

5. Divide the vegetables onto 4 plates, add the sweet and sticky pork belly pieces, scatter the basil on top and add sesame seeds just before serving.

Note: Turn this salad idea into a warm meal by replacing the julienned salad ingredients with julienned stir-fried vegetables and cooking it all in the wok. Serve with rice or glass noodles.

Brought to you by Food and Home

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.