This braised pork belly recipe is a real barnstormer, sticky, sweet, sour and spicy and all ways around my idea of indulgent comfort food. Not bad for a recipe that really does not break the bank!

Sticky Braised Pork Belly with Pineapple.

I love pork belly and my latest sticky and spicy braised pork belly recipe is a special one.

I firmly believe that the cheaper and fattier cuts of meat have lots more flavour than the leaner more expensive cuts.

Pork belly is a cut of meat I am loving at the moment, because, well pork belly people. It is the undispiuted heavyweight champion of the porcine world if you ask me.

However this recipe unlike all of my others does not use the pork skin to make crackling. Whether crispy as in this blackened Chinese pork belly or puffed like this pork belly with apple recipe.

However you can rest assured that I have not lost my mind because the skin was set aside and used to make crackling. Or scratchings as we call them in the UK.

I am sitting here with a smile on my face as I know how some of my US friends react to the word crisps (chips in the US).

In short, I would love to see the look on their face when they find out that pork rinds are called scratchings in the UK!

Pork and Pineapple.

You guys know I don’t sit on the fence when it comes to food right? Well there are times when pineapple and savoury food is a crime worthy of the harshest penalty.

I’m looking at you animals that put it on pizza.

You know I am joking right?

Or am I?

But there are also times when pineapple is the perfect fruit in a savoury dish.

This easy braised pork belly recipe is just one of those recipes, it is essentially a take on sweet and sour pork. We all know how good sweet and sour pork is!

So good in fact that I already have two versions on my site. One quick and slightly refined pork tenderloin sweet and sour pork and the more classic sweet and sour pork balls.

Pineapple Pork & Asian Flavours.

There was only one direction that this pineapple pork belly recipe was going and that was Asian. The whole Chinkiang vinegar and soy sauce thing with a touch of sweetness is a combination I just love.

In a word, ok maybe four:

Salty, Sweet, Sour & Spicy!

These are are the holy grail in food for me. No I do not use them all the time but c’mon when those flavours align something special really does happen.

And those flavours are all unquestionably here!

If you are not familiar with Chinkiang vinegar, please try and find it because it really cannot be replaced by anything else.

It is a black Chinese rice vinegar that has a less astringent sourness. This helps mellow out that sweet and sour vibe.

Vinegar lasts for such a long time there is no need to worry about shelf life. Most importantly, I use it a lot in my fakeaways.

Hey I’m selfish, get over it!

Sticky Spicy Pineapple Pork Belly.

Yield: 2 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

This braised pork belly recipe is a real barnstormer, sticky, sweet, sour and spicy and all ways around my idea of indulgent comfort food. Not bad for a recipe that really does not break the bank!

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Ingredients

• 500 g Pork Belly
• 250 g Pineapple
• 250 g Onion
• 4 Cloves Garlic
• 60 ml Chinkiang Vinegar
• 100 ml Soy Sauce
• 60 ml Honey
• 1 Tsp Chili Flakes
• 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp Cooking Oil
• 250 ml Water

Instructions

1. Dice your pork belly into 2.5cm cubes.
2. Dice your pineapple into the same sized pieces as your pork.
3. Slice the onion into thin half moon shapes.
4. Finely slice the garlic.
5. Heat the cooking oil in a large heavy based pan over a medium high heat
6. Season the pork belly with the black pepper and then cook the pork belly for 10-12 minutes until golden on all sides.
7. Remove the pork from the pan and drain of almost all of the oil, reserve it as we will use some of it later.
8. Add the sliced onions and cook for 5 minutes until they start to colour.
9. Throw in the garlic and chili and cook for another 60 seconds.
10. Add the honey, soy, water and vinegar and bring to a simmer before turning down to medium low and simmering for 70 minutes.
11. After 70 minutes take some of the reserved cooking fat and fry off the diced pineapple until nicely caramalised.
12. Add the pineapple to the pan with the pork and cook on for another 15-20 minutes.

Notes

Serve with some simple rice and chopped chives.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 1046 Total Fat: 57g Saturated Fat: 20g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 35g Cholesterol: 211mg Sodium: 3221mg Carbohydrates: 70g Fiber: 4g Sugar: 54g Protein: 65g