Sticky Szechuan pork with sesame seeds recipe

Serve this easy slow-cooked sticky pork belly with an oriental cucumber salad or some noodles

John Gregory-Smith: "This recipe is Chinese cooking at it’s best – the pork belly is cooked slowly with the spices, so it fully absorbs all their delicious Szechuan flavours, and is then coated in a rich sticky sauce. You can leave the skin of the root ginger on when preparing this dish. not only does this make the preparation quicker, but according to a friend of mine, Mr Hung, in Chengdu, the skin adds a better flavour and is very healthy to eat. Frankly, less peeling can only be a good thing! Just make sure the ginger is fresh and that you give it a good wash before you slice it."

Serves 4

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 dried red chillies, roughly chopped
• 6 star anise
• 500g boneless pork belly, cut into 2.5cm/1in-wide pieces
• 2.5cm piece root ginger, roughly sliced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. When smoking hot, chuck in the dried red chillies and star anise and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the pork belly, ginger and salt, and continue to stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, or until the pork starts to take on a little colour.

2. Pour over 500ml hot water, which should just cover everything, and give it a good stir. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through and tender. Remove the pork from the wok with a slotted spoon and set aside. Skim off any excess fat from the surface of the liquid left in the wok using a spoon.

3. Whisk together the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and then add to the wok. Turn the heat up to high and cook, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced by half.

4. Return the pork to the wok, add the sesame seeds, then stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, or until the sauce has become really thick and sticky and the pork is well-coated. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve immediately.