Braised ox cheeks
An easy, slow-cooked ox cheeks recipe with punchy soy and mirin flavours. Enjoy it spooned over rice, tossed with noodles, stuffed into steamed buns or even wrapped in Chinese pancakes
Thai braised pork
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- + marinating
- Easy
- Serves 4
Skip to ingredients
- 600g pork belly
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauceplus a splash
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 4 coriander roots
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- vegetable oilfor frying
- 3 tbsp rock sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 star anise
- 4 cassia bark
- 1 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
- corianderto garnish
- jasmine riceto serve
Nutrition: Per serving
- kcal504
- fat33.4g
- saturates11.2g
- carbs19.8g
- sugars17.2g
- fibre1g
- protein30.6g
- salt4.5g
Method
step 1
Cut the pork belly into 7.5cm squares, and marinate in a little of the dark soy sauce for a few hours.
step 2
Roughly pound the garlic, coriander roots and peppercorns with a pestle and mortar, or whizz to a paste in a food processor. Stir-fry in 1 tbsp of oil for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from the pan and add the sugar – it will start to caramelise.
step 3
Add the pork belly with the garlic, coriander root and pepper. Add the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, 2 tbsp of dark soy sauce and 1 tsp of salt. Add the star anise and cassia bark, with 400ml of water, and simmer over a low heat for 1 hour 30 minutes until the pork is tender. Add more water if it is drying out – the pork should sit in a pool of dark, fragrant sauce. Serve with rice.
