Sticky pork belly with salted roast pumpkin & crispy shallots

Sticky pork with som tam salad is one of those quintessentially Thai dishes that as soon as you taste it’s intense flavours, your taste buds will be wanting more forever. Every time I get the large wooden som tam pestles and mortars out at the restaurant the smell of dried shrimp, garlic and fish sauce ingrained into the wood takes me back to my mornings in Kho Phangan when travelling Thailand as an 18 year old little idiot. Stumbling along the beach one sunny morning like Bambi on ice after consuming literal buckets of Sangsom rum and red bull mixers the previous evening, I could not help but to be drawn in by the rich seafood smell of shrimp, palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice getting sprayed through the sea air along with the satisfying thump, thump, thump of the wooden pestle and mortar that echoes across the beach. Som tam very quickly evolved from hang over cure to staple for me and became one of my favourite things to eat. It’s rich, sweet, salty yet savoury flavours make the salad a perfect one to impress friends. Som tam to the Thais varies on an almost infinite level from area to area, as paella does to the Spanish, or bolognese to the Italians. For me this sticky pork belly with som tam is some of the best shit you can ever ask for, if you don’t like it then you must be broken and you should probably get yourself looked at. I appreciate that I have not actually posted a som tam recipe yet but I will bear it in mind and get one up soon, in the meantime I will soullessly self promote and mention that there is a great recipe in my cookbook, Cook Thai. Me and the team at Farang like to cold smoke the pumpkin and the pork belly over cherry wood in this recipe first, however a salt roast is a little easier to do at home without setting any alarms off or making your house smell like a bonfire so I have used this method in this recipe. In Thailand this is often eaten with sticky rice to dip.

Ingredients:

• 300g pork belly, skin removed

• 100g pumpkin, peeled and chopped into roughly 2cm by 2cm chunks

• 5g coarse sea salt

• 2 fresh bay leaves (dried will work fine)

• 1-star anise

• 1 x 4cm long piece of cassia bark (cinnamon sticks will do)

• 500g palm sugar (dark soft brown sugar can also be used)

• 100ml oyster sauce

• 300ml vegetable stock

• 50ml dark soy sauce

• 100ml fish sauce

• 1 pandan leaf, tied in a knot and torn to release flavour (optional)

• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

• 4 banana shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

• 500ml sunflower oil, for deep frying the shallots

Method:

1. Prepare the Pork and Pumpkin: In separate pots, bring salted water to a boil. Add the pork belly to one pot and the pumpkin to the other. Simmer the pumpkin for 6-8 minutes, then refresh under cold water. It should be softened but firm. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Simmer the pork for 15-20 minutes, ensuring the water doesn't boil. For best results, maintain the pork at 70-80°C for 3-4 hours until tender. Once cool, chop into 2cm chunks.

2. Create the Sauce: In an oven-proof pan, combine sugar, vegetable stock, oyster sauce, dark soy, pandan leaf, cassia bark, star anise, and 50ml fish sauce. Heat gently until melted. Add the pork, stirring to coat. Cover with a cartouche, simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add the pumpkin, fold gently, and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. The pork should be caramelised and tender, and the pumpkin soft.

3. Fry the Shallots: Heat oil in a pan to 180°C. Test with a shallot piece; it should bubble gently. Fry the shallots until golden brown, then strain on a tray with kitchen towel. Separate with a fork as they cool to crisp up.

4. Serve: Dish up the sticky pork and pumpkin straight from the oven. Top with spring onions and crispy shallots. For the ultimate experience, enjoy immediately with som tam salad and Thai sticky rice to soak up those rich juices.

Thanks for diving into this culinary adventure! Let me know how it turns out (unless you didn’t enjoy it, in which case, keep it to yourself 😉). Hopefully, I’ll see you at Farang London soon for a taste of our other delights!