This pineapple pork belly is a real barnstormer of a recipe, 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 Spicy Pineapple Pork Belly.
I love pork belly and my latest stick and spicy pineapple pork belly recipe is a real 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 savour dish. This easy 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.
This pineapple pork belly is a really barnstormer of a recipe, sticky, sweet, sour and spicy and all ways round my idea of indulgent comfort food, not bad for a recipe that really does not break the bank!
Ingredients
- 500 g Pork Belly: Skinless and boneless, diced into 2.5 cm cubes.
- 250 g Pineapple: Diced.
- 250 g Onion: Sliced into fine half moons.
- 4 Cloves Garlic: Finely sliced.
- 60 ml Chinkiang Vinegar. You can use other vinegars if you wish, it will obviously change the flavour.
- 100 ml Soy Sauce.
- 60 ml Honey.
- 1 Tsp Chili Flakes: Less or more as you prefer!
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper.
- 1 Tsp Cooking Oil: Neutral.
- 250 ml Water.
Instructions
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Heat the cooking oil in a large heavy based pan over a medium high heat
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Season the pork belly with the black pepper and then cook the pork belly for 10-12 minutes until golden on all sides.
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Remove the pork from the pan and drain of almost all of the oil, reserve it as we will use some of it later.
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Add the sliced onions and cook for 5 minutes until they start to colour.
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Throw in the garlic and chili and cook for another 60 seconds.
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Add the honey, soy, water and vinegar and bring to a simmer before turning down to medium low and simmering for 70 minutes.
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After 70 minutes take some of the reserved cooking fat and fry off the diced pineapple until nicely caramalised.
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Add the pineapple to the pan with the pork and cook on for another 15-20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Serve with some simple rice and chopped chives.
Oh wow! I’m seriously drooling now. I love pineapple with meat and I confess I do very occasionally enjoy pineapple on pizza (don’t tell anyone though :)) ) This looks and sounds so tasty, can’t wait to try it.
Get out!!! Just kidding, we all have our own afflictions to deal with… Tee hee, enjoy this recipe is a proper big hearty crowd pleaser.
They used to call me Sticky Spicy Pineapple Pork Belly in seventh grade, so this brings back a lot of memories.
I have no idea what 7th grade is, they did no start using that way of working out what year you were in until long after I left school. However I can definitely attest to the fact that kids were a lot less cruel at your school than mine!
I totally agree about the fattier cuts of meat! I try to tell my kids that yet my daughter is always cutting off the tiniest pieces of fat. This looks so good and I know that sticky sauce must be packed with flavor.
Oh man it drives me insane, I just don’t get it!
Ooh my husband would go crazy for this. I bet the sauce would work just as well on chicken thighs if I can’t get a hold of pork belly, don’t you think?
It certainly would be tasty on chicken wings, I would maybe scale back on the vinegar a little on chicken as it is naturally less fatty than pork belly so needs less astringency. Changing out meats in a recipe always involves a little jigging to make it work.
What a delicious pineapple pork belly! I am in love with the colors. I simply cannot wait to try it! Very interesting combination of ingredients. I am saving this recipe for later. Thank you for sharing this incredible recipe. Yum!
Thanks Veena
I love the combination of pineapple with meat, and this pork belly looks and sounds simply delicious! Spicy food is such a treat ♥♥♥
Thanks Natalia, I am rather fond of a bit of spice 😀