Festive Crispy Pork Belly

• 500g pork belly (1 piece)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1–2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice

The Base

• 1-2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 onion / red onion, roughly chopped
• 2-3 mandarins / clementines, sliced in half
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2-3 Star anise
• 1 Cinnamon stick

1. Place the pork belly piece skin-side down in a large saucepan and cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes before removing the meat from the pan. (Some scum may form on the top of the water; it is just some of the impurities and excess fat the pork holds within its skin and will be discarded once the pork is blanched.)

2. Remove the meat from the pan and run under cold water to cool. Once cool, pat the skin dry with kitchen paper and score gently using the tip of a sharp knife in diagonal ‘criss-cross’ cuts along the top of the skin, trying to only open up the fat and not cut into the meat itself.

3. Dry the skin with kitchen paper once more and rub the salt into it. Rub the five-spice onto the sides and bottom of the meat only, not the skin.

4. Place all “The Base” ingredients into a roasting tray and then place the pork skin side up on top of them.

5. Preheat the oven to 130°C/265°F/Gas ¾. Place the pork into the oven and roast for 1½ hours. Now turn the oven up to 230°C/450°F/Gas 8 and roast for a further 30–45 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and crispy all the way through. To judge whether the pork skin is crispy enough, give it a flick with your finger; if the sound is hollow like that from the bottom of a well-baked loaf of bread, then the pork is definitely crispy enough.

6. Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Turn the pork skin-side down on a chopping board and slice through the skin with a sharp large knife or cleaver, pressing down on the top of the blade to slice through the crackling. Serve.