Last Saturday a few of us met up for a get together to celebrate the Malaysian Carnival at https://www.brickendonbury.co.uk/view-blog/merdeka-malaysian-carnival-23rd-september-2017-9/ It was a fun chin wag alongside plenty of food.
A friend gave me a very fresh packet of curry leaves and I’ve been thinking of ways to celebrate them. It is not that easy to get such fresh curry leaves in the UK. As I have some frozen leaves in my freezer already I decided to go to town with these to use them fresh today and tomorrow.
Often we think of something we would like to eat with the flavours we love. I was thinking about crispy pork belly for a few days so I decided to combine them and my fresh curry leaves. Hence this very moreish dish is born.
Spicy, Sour & Crispy Pork Belly in Belacan, Asam and curry leaves – Special
Ingredients
Crispy Pork Belly
- 1.5 kg pork belly sliced
- ½ cup oil
- 1 tsp salt
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 large red onion sliced
- 2 to 5 fresh red chillies
- 5 to 8 dried red chillies
- 3 to 5 cloves garlic mince
- 5 to 8 sprig curry leaves
- 1 matchbox size belacan shrimp paste
- 1 tbsp gula Melaka or dark brown sugar
- 3 – 5 limes lime juice I put the pulp in too
- 3 tbsp thick asam tamarind juice
Instructions
Pork Belly
- Slice the pork belly and then fry in oil, season with salt until crispy. You can use pork belly with skin on or off but be warned the skin on will spit a LOT but they taste more crispy! This will take sometime.
- When done remove and set the crispy pork belly aside. Save the oil to use for frying noodles, stir-fry vegetable and fried rice.
Cooking
- In the same wok where you fried the pork belly with 2 tbsp with the oil left fry the sliced onions, minced garlic, chopped dried and fresh chillies for a few minutes till fragrant. Add in the curry leaves too.
- Next goes in the toasted belacan (shrimp paste) and gula atap. If you do not have gula atap use dark brown sugar, tamarind juice and juice of a lime, plus the pulps.
- Fry for a bit and add in the crispy pork belly. Turn heat off and just gives everything a good toast then serve.
Notes
I could not help pinching the pork belly after cooking. Very moreish. For this dish you really have to boil more rice.
However if you are watching your carbohydrates like me then serve wrapped with lettuce is also fantastic.
Frying the pork belly without oil 
Store the liquid gold (oil) 
The ingredients 
Frying the ingredients 
Extremely moreish