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.

Comments

[karadin.livejournal.com]

Oh yummy! Cant wait to try this, but need clarification on some ingredients -
what is - birds eye chili, and palm sugar? to us Yanks?

And suggestions for sides? Such as fire extinguisher? :D

Ps every time I see swinging doors at the supermarket now, I laugh.

[vanillamarmalad.livejournal.com]

Bird's eye chili are those really small chili peppers (tiny little things) that pack so much heat per piece that you can't believe a small thing could be so spicy! A dash of Vietnamese or Thai hot sauce (sriracha) - even Tabasco! - works in a pinch! ^_^

Palm sugar is what you get from the sap of the coconut palm; very dark brown sugar works just as well.

Rice is a great buffer for the spiciness, and a light salad balances the richness of the pork belly. ^_^

[anei-no-tsuki.livejournal.com]

haa~ I've wondered so, so many times HOW he makes the stuff. There HAS to be something special about it, god knows what.

I saw him making it on Utaban and serving it to the hosts, and it looked so different and.. yummy 0o
I guess if you send him a mail asking for the recipe he'd say it's a secret =D

Thank you for this one though ^^ I always love to try new stuff with cooking~! *made a kimchi stew yesterday* <3

[gacktyougirl.livejournal.com]

Ooh, this sounds like a project to take on with some friends!

[lilyginnyblack.livejournal.com]

Oh~ That looks so good, and I would love to make it, but I can't eat spicy food...at all! T.T My tongue burns even if what I'm eating is only the tiniest bit spicy. Though, if I were to receive butabara directly from Gackt, then I would eat it, without a doubt. Even if my eyes were burning, my mouth was on fire, and I was crying like a fool, I would eat it. Thanks for sharing this though! ^.^

[smilingcrescent.livejournal.com]

Oooh, spice is good. I'm gonna try and make a vegetarian version though. I shall tell you how it turns out. <3

Oh, is fish sauce, er, sauce FOR fish or sauce FROM fish? XD;; If it is fish, what could I substitute? Cooking wine?

[vanillamarmalad.livejournal.com]

Hi! You can use Chinese oyster sauce or vegetarian "oyster" sauce (made with oyster mushrooms) instead of the fish sauce. 2 tablespoons of the stuff diluted in 2 tablespoons of water works the charm.

Oh, and I've tried doing a vegetarian version, too. (Soft tofu + vegemeat = nice!) If you're a lacto-ovo vegetarian, adding hard-boiled eggs before serving is also a good idea.