More Tastes of Asia

The impact of Asian cultures on Australian cuisine is undeniable and it is a food trend that will no doubt continue in Queensland given our close proximity to Asia, our climate and the fact that so much of the produce used in Asian dishes is grown here - think tropical and exotic fruit like mangoes and lychees.

Pork of course is a staple in Asian cooking and increasingly we're seeing pork belly as a cut used on the menu in restaurants. Gooralie Free-range pork is the first pork farm in Queensland to be accredited by the RSPCA. The pigs wander happily around Mark and Charisse Ladners 160 hectare (400 acre) property near Goodiwindi in the south west of the state. They are fed a natural, nutritiously blended diet free of chemical residue, antibiotics and hormone growth promotants.

Buy Gooralie pork at:
Stuartholme Quality Meats - Bardon
The Meat-ting Place - Paddington & McDowall
Maleny Butchery - Maleny

Visit http://www.gooraliefreerangepork.com.au/ for a full list of outlets in Queensland.

Visit http://www.pork.com.au/ for more information about Australian Pork.

Crispy pork belly, asian salad with coconut dressing
Serves 6

Ingredients
100g soba noodles, cooked
1/4 medium daikon, peeled and julienned
1/2 continental cucumber, peeled and julienned
50g snow pea sprouts
50g bean sprouts
1/3 cup picked coriander
1/3 cup picked mint
1/3 cup picked Vietnamese mint
50g pickled ginger
1/2 medium salad onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup green pawpaw, peeled and julienned

Coconut Dressing
1 tbs palm sugar
250ml coconut cream
3 limes, juiced
1 tbs fish sauce
2 red chillis, deseeded and finely chopped

Pork
1500g pork belly, skin on
1 dessertspoon 5 spice powder
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs pink salt flakes
1 dessertspoon castor sugar
6 lime cheeks

Method
Spike the skin on the pork belly with a wooden skewer at 1cm intervals.
Place the pork belly on a cake rack and pour boiling water over the skin, pat dry.
Mix 5 spice, black pepper, salt and sugar and rub into the pork flesh.
Place in the refrigerator uncovered overnight.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place the pork, skin side up on a cake rack over a roasting tray of water.
Roast the pork for 15 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 160 degrees and cook for a further 2 hours, topping up the water when necessary.
Increase the temperature to 230 degrees and continue to roast for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and keep warm.
Mix coconut dressing ingredients and, in a large bowl, combine salad ingredients with coconut dressing.
Toss gently and divide evenly between 6 plates.
Cut pork belly into 12 pieces, place on plates and finish with lime cheeks.