So in this post I decided to make Pun Moo Bin which translates to Crispy pork belly lettuce wraps in Laotian. To do this, I require fresh pork belly so I can marinate and roast in the oven to start.
With this diagram, it shows the section of the pig which will be used, the under belly of the pig or hog. I have Chosen this cut of meat for the rich and full flavor, that this cut can produce. The North American culture uses this cut for a delicious breakfast protein called BACON!! This has captured me from the start. I LOVE BACON. But all around the world this piece of juicy, succulent meat by originally barbecued and roasting, which I will do today....Roasted Crispy Pork Belly!!
I purchased this nice cut of the pigs belly at a fair price of $3.99 / lb at BT supermarket. When choosing a fresh cut, i will suggest looking for a piece with as little fat as possible. This piece of pork is high in fat, naturally. The versatile of this meat can be cooked in all forms, braised, roasted, pan seared, friend and even boiled if you would like. |
It all starts with a beautiful slab of Pork belly, skin on with no bone, and aboutn1Kg in weight fresh from the butcher. We need to marinate this slab and let it rest for a few hours. The marinate is pink Himalayan sea salt, garlic, ground black pepper, rice vinegar, rice wine or sake, and ground five spice.
Using a plastic container the marination is covering the meat, just enough to so it doesn't flow onto the skin. To create an extra crispy skin you will need to dry the skin of the pork belly by piercing the skin using bamboo sticks. i used three at a time to speed up the process. The whole top skin should be pierced, the more holes you have the more crispy the skin will become.
Cover the skin of the meat with a decent amount of rock salt. This will help draw out any moisture as well as season the skin. Store the meat in the fridge over night so the marinate penetrates and the skin dries out.
Remove the Pork belly from the marinate and remove the excess salt from the skin. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a roasting pan with tin foil, place the pork on the grill and roast for 45 mins. Once the meat is cooked, brush the skin with vegetable oil and broil the skin at high heat. 425 degrees. Monitoring the meat and cook to the desired texture.
For this dish you will need to boil and drain rice vermicelli, and what ever herbs you enjoy, for me I prefer fresh cilantro, fresh mint leaves, and also lettuce to wrap everything in.
For the sauce we used a lighter component which contains:
Fish sauce
Sugar
Lime juice
Garlic
For the sauce we used a lighter component which contains:
Fish sauce
Sugar
Lime juice
Garlic