Pork Belly Yuzu Miso
SERVES 4 | MAKES 8
100g caster sugar
50g seaweed salt
100ml boiling water
400 ml ice-cold water
600g strips of pork belly
Sake- Mirin Spray
FOR THE YUZU MISO DRESSING
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp caster sugar
50g yellow miso
1 1/2 tbsp yuzu juice
You will need: 8 wooden skewers, soaked for 30 minutes in cold water.
Pork belly is a great inexpensive robata option, with its flavoursome strips of fat. I recommend using belly from free-range rare breeds. To break the grease and enhance the flavors, this is served with a simple yuzu miso topping to add umami and acidity simultaneously.
- First, make a brine. Place the sugar and salt in a mixing bowl, then pour over the boiling water and mix well. Top up the brine with ice-cold water.
- Trim the pork belly, removing the rind and leaving as much of the fat attached to the meat as possible.
- Cut into 1.5x1.5 cm wide pieces, add to the brine and leave to soak for 2 hours in the fridge.
- For the dressing, place the mirin, sugar and miso in a small saucepan over a gentle heat ant stir until the sugar is melted ant the mirin incorporated.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the yuzu juice, and set aside to cool down.
- Start the robot grill.
- Drain the pork belly through a colander, discarding the liquid.
- Divide the pork between the eight skewers.
- Grill over the bincho coals, spraying with sake-miring spray ant rotating every 2 minutes.
- Repeat until the pork is cooked through and crisp on the edges, about 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from the robot and, while still piping hot, add dollops of the yuzu miso to the crispy pork, then place in a serving dish and serve with Red Onion Pickles.
