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