Roast Pork with Cherry-Ginger Relish

INGREDIENTS

  • 100 ml soy sauce

  • 100 gm pitted cherries, coarsely chopped

  • 80 ml Shaoxing wine

  • 80 gm honey

  • 2 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar

  • 1 tbsp finely grated ginger, plus extra thickly sliced

  • 3 star anise

  • 1 tsp Chinese five-spice

  • 1 pork rack (about 1.8kg with 6 cutlets), skin scored

  • 6 spring onions, coarsely chopped

Cherry-ginger relish

  • 2 tbsp grapeseed oil

  • 2 golden shallots, finely chopped

  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 2 tbsp finely grated ginger

  • 350 gm pitted cherries, halved

  • 1 tbsp caster sugar, or to taste

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce

  • 150 ml Shaoxing wine

  • 90 ml Chinkiang vinegar

Chinese slaw

  • 400 gm Chinese cabbage, thinly shaved on mandolin

  • 1 cup (loosely packed) bean sprouts, trimmed

  • ¾ cup (loosely packed) coriander

  • 3 spring onions, thinly sliced

  • 2 tbsp grapeseed oil

  • 2 tbsp brown rice vinegar

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp finely grated ginger

  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Method

  • 1. For cherry-ginger relish, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté shallot and garlic until tender (3-4 minutes), then add ginger and stir until fragrant. Add cherries, sugar, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and 150ml water, bring to a simmer and cook until cherries are tender and liquid reduces by half (4-5 minutes), then stir in vinegar. Season to taste with pepper and refrigerate for at least 24 hours for flavours to develop. Cherry-ginger relish will keep refrigerated for up to a month.

  • 2. Preheat oven to 220C. Stir soy sauce, cherries, Shaoxing, honey, vinegar, ginger and spices in a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer, cook until cherries turn pulpy, then set aside to cool. Place pork rack, skin-side up on a bed of sliced ginger and spring onions in a roasting pan large enough to fit pork snugly. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 180C. Pour soy sauce mixture into pan, cover pork with foil and roast for 1 hour, basting meat occasionally with pan juices. Remove foil, roast until crackling forms (20-25 minutes), then rest for 20 minutes.

  • 3. For Chinese slaw, combine cabbage, bean sprouts, coriander and spring onion in a bowl and season to taste. Whisk remaining ingredients in a bowl, add to cabbage mixture to taste and toss lightly to mix well. Serve with pork and pan juices, and cherry-ginger relish.

Recipe by Emma Knowles

Photo by Ben Dearnley

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