…with Sweet and Sour Carrot Slaw
Recipe and photo courtesy of Camille Koppenberg (Camille in the Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS

For the pork belly

• 1 slab of uncured pork belly
• salt and pepper

For the Sweet and Sour Carrot Slaw

• 2 cups (200 g) shredded carrot
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
• 1 tablespoon (12 g) sugar
• salt sufficient to cover belly
• ground black pepper to taste

For the Filipino Adobo Sticky Sauce

• ¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) sriracha
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1 dried bay leaf

For the Steam Buns

• 1 can refrigerated biscuits
• Flour for dusting

For the garnish

• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, washed

DIRECTIONS

For the pork belly

1. Cover the pork belly with about ½ cup of salt
2. Put into a container and refrigerate for 12 hours
3. After brining for 12 hours, remove the pork belly and rinse with cold water
4. Fill and preheat the SousVide Supreme water oven to 145F/63C.
5. Pat the pork belly dry with paper towels/kitchen paper and season with black pepper
6. Put the pork belly into a cooking pouch and vacuum seal.
7. Submerge the pork belly in the water oven to cook for 36 hours.
8. After 36 hours, remove the pouch and quick chill, submerged in ice water (half ice, half water) for 30 to 40 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

For the slaw

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the buns

1. Roll each biscuit out on a floured surface
2. Fold each biscuit in half to resemble a half moon and place each on an individual parchment paper square; lightly brush the biscuit with oil.
3. Keep the biscuits covered with a moist paper towel as you go, until ready to steam
4. Prepare your steamer (you can also use the steam function on a rice cooker)
5. Once the steamer is ready, place each biscuit (with the parchment paper still attached) in the steamer. Make sure to leave plenty of space between biscuits, as they will expand quite a bit.
6. Steam for 5 to 10 minutes

For the sauce

1. While the buns are steaming, combine the sauce ingredients in a small pan
2. Bring the sauce to a boil; reduce to simmer and allow the sauce to thicken about 5 to 10 minutes and set aside

To assemble the buns

1. Slice the pork belly thinly (to ¼ to ½ inch/1.5 to 2.5 cm)
2. Heat a pan over medium heat and sear the pork belly in the pan and allow the pork to crisp up on each side
3. Once crispy, transfer each slice to the pan of sticky sauce
4. Gently split a steam bun in half with the back of a spoon, add 1 or 2 pork belly slices to each. Top each with a couple of slices of cucumber, a couple of spoons of carrot slaw, and some cilantro.