Rolled rice flakes with aromatic broth and pork

INGREDIENTS

Fried pork belly

• 250 g raw pork belly with skin
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• oil for deep-frying

Spice bag

• small cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise pod
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves

Paste

• 1 tbsp coriander roots
• pinch of salt
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped ginger
• ¼ tsp white peppercorns

Soup

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or lard
• 300 g raw pork belly
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 1½ litres pork broth
• 2 pandan leaves
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• 100 g firm tofu, deep-fried
• 250 g rice flake noodles, sen guay jap
• optiolan: giblets + blood (100-200 g each)
• 1 tbsp rice flour

Garnish

• 2 tbsp chopped spring onions
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• 2 tbsp fried garlic *
• a few pinches of ground white pepper

To serve

• fish sauce
• sugar
• toasted chili powder **

Chili sauce

• 4 fresh long red chilies
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander roots
• ¼ – ½ tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar

METHOD

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Prepare the chili sauce

Grill the chilies on bamboo skewers until charred. Leave to cool. Using a mortar and pestle pound the coriander, garlic and salt. Peel the chilies, add them to the mortar and pound into a coarse paste. Mix in sugar and vinegar. Season with some more salt if needed. Set aside for a few hours.

Boil and deed-fry the pork belly

Simmer the pork belly in a water for 15 minutes. Drain in a collander and leave to dry on the outside. Cut the pork belly into 2-3 strips. In a small bowl combine the salt and vinegar. Rub the pork skin with this mixture, then put the strips onto a grate and leave to dry for at least 3 hours in a warm and airy place.

Preheat the oil for deep-frying to 180oC. Fry the pork belly, turning from time to time until the skin bubbles and golden brown (be careful – the oil splashes!). Put the pork strips onto a grate and leave to cool, then slice.

Cook the giblets and blood (optional)

If using, cook the giblets in water with galangal slices, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and pandan leaves until tender. Steam the blood in a bowl until hard to touch.

Make the spice bag

Dry-roast the spices until fragrant and leave to cool. Wrap them in a piece of muslin and secure with a kitchen string.

Pound the paste

Using a mortar and pestle pound all the ingredients into a paste.

Cook the soup

In a medium pot heat the oil and fry the paste until aromatic. Add the pork belly cut into 2 cm pieces. Stirring frequently, fry the pork until golden, then add salt, sugar, both soy sauces and five spice powder. Fry for a few minutes. Pour in the stock, add the spice bag and one pandan leaf. Simmer until the pork belly is tender (about 20 minutes).

Add the eggs, fried tofu and steamed blood, if using. Simmer for a further 20 minutes, then take the eggs, tofu, blood and pork out of the pot and cut them into small pieces. Put the pork back into the soup. Set aside the rest.

Cook the noodles

Bring to the boil about 1 litre of water with one pandan leaf. Add the rice flakes and cook until curle up and tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the noodles into serwing boil. Pour off about a half of the cooking water. Bring to the boil again. In a small bowl mix the rice flour and 2 tbsp of water. Pour in the mixture into the pan and boil for a while.

Serve the soup

Add 2-3 tbsp of thickened water to the serving bowls with the noodles. Put a few pieces of the fried pork belly, tofu and egg (+ fiblets and blood if using) onto the noodles. Pour the soup (+ pieces of cooked pork) over, then sprinkle with the spring onion, coriander, fried garlic and white pepper. Serve with fish sauce, sugar, toasted chili powder and chili sauce.

ADDITIONAL RECIPES

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* Fried garlic

(for 5 tbsp of fried garlic)

• 100 g garlic
• 2 cups peanut oil

Chop the garlic. Preheat the oil in a small sauce pan over medium/low heat. Add the garlic, lower the heat and fry until golden, stirring from time to time. The garlic should be ready after 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer the garlic onto paper towels. Let it cool completely. Use it right away or store in an air tight container for up to a few days.

** Toasted chili powder

Toast some long dried chilies on a dry frying pan until very dark and ground into coarse powder.