What to do with Butabara...

[vanillamarmalad.livejournal.com]

For those of you who have been major Gackt-a-holics for quite some time now, I'm sure you're familiar with the Utaban episode where Gackt talks about butabara [pork belly] and how he likes using that part of the hog for curry.

So, for all you faithful troops, I've searched far and wide for recipes that would at least come close to that heavenly concoction the King of Darkness makes for his friends (and takes four days to make!). Well the following recipe is spicy enough and it's an introduction to Asian curries and spiced dishes for those of you with a yen for this sort of thing. (And we all know Gackt loves spicy food!) Best of all, it uses butabara! Here you go...

Peppery Thai Pork Belly

500g pork belly with skin, cut into thick pieces
2 tbsp oil
½ tbsp black peppercorns
1 bird's eye chili (optional)
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla or patis; usually found in Asian groceries)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp palm sugar (if unavailable, use dark brown sugar) 
3 cups water

Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, grind the peppercorns, garlic, and chili pepper (if using) into a fine paste.

In a heavy saucepan or wok, heat the oil and brown the pork belly over medium heat; remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, stir-fry the pepper-garlic paste over low heat till fragrant.  Add the fish sauce, soy, sugar, and 1/4 cup of the water.  Turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the browned pork, stirring well to coat all the pieces with sauce.

Add the remaining water to the pan and bring the sauce to boil again. Turn down to low heat and half cover the pan. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half and the pork belly is tender, about an hour to an hour and a half.  Serves six.