A delicious twist on you usual Sunday roast, this recipe for sticky Miso Pork Belly also yields shatteringly crispy crackling. Miso – a paste made from fermented soybeans – is an umami-rich ingredient that works well with the unctuousness of pork belly. When combined with soy sauce, honey, garlic and citrus, the marinade creates a sticky sauce that also works brilliantly on grilled chicken.

Recipe by East After Noon 

Prep time: 30 mins /Cook time: 2 hours /Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2kg pork belly roast (bone-in preferably)
• 30ml red miso paste
• 60ml soy sauce
• 120ml orange juice
• 60ml lime juice
• 15ml honey
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 375ml dry red wine
• Coarse ground sea salt

For the sesame greens:

• 4-8 heads of bok choi or tenderstem broccoli
• 15ml sesame oil
• 10ml toasted sesame seeds
• Fine sea salt

Using a sharp knife, loosen the layer of skin and fat covering the roast. Carefully score the skin in a diagonal pattern, taking care not to slice all the way through. In a small pot over medium heat, combine the miso paste, soy sauce, orange and lime juice, honey and garlic and simmer until slightly reduced. Place the pork into a roasting dish and bush the marinade all over the meat but not over the loosened skin. Rub the skin with a little coarse ground sea salt and place back on top of the marinated roast. Pour the red wine around the pork and cover the entire dish with foil. Roast the pork in a preheated 220°C oven for 40 minutes before removing the foil and roasting for a further hour at 170°C, basting the meat (not the skin) once with the remaining marinade in the base of the dish. Once the pork is tender, cover and allow to rest while the crackling is prepared. For best results, use an air fryer set to 200°C for 5 to 8 minutes or crisp up the pork skin beneath the oven’s grill setting.

For the greens, steam the bok choi until just tender and toss with the sesame oil and seeds. Serve alongside the pork, crackling and a few glasses of 2022 Leopard’s Leap Merlot.