09 Aug, 2021
Serves 6
Prep time: 10 minutes plus minimum of 30 minutes chilling time
Cooking time: 4-4 ½ hours
Ingredients:
1 lamb belly with ribs (about 1.2kg)
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground white pepper
Black pepper
80ml water
For the 5-Spice Mix:
¼ tbsp 5-spice powder
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp salt
¼ tsp powdered MSG (optional)
To Serve:
6 spring onions, shredded and popped in ice water for 30 minutes
½ cucumber, deseeded, cut into matchsticks and popped in ice water for 30 minutes
Chinese pancakes
Plum hoisin sauce
Sriracha
Bottle of Dark Horse Malbec
Preheat the oven to 180˚c/160˚c fan/ gas mark 4
Firstly, rub the lamb belly and ribs with the oil and season liberally with the salt and both peppers.
Add the lamb to a large roasting tin with the water. Tightly wrap the whole tin in foil so that it is airtight. Cook in the oven for 3 ½ hours.
When the lamb is falling off the bone, remove it from the over. Turn the oven up as high as it will go (approx. 250˚c)
Mis together the 5-spice mix ingredients (and MSG is using) and rub half of this mixture onto the lamb.
Return the meat to the hot oven to roast uncovered for 15-25 minutes until the lamb is browned and crispy.
Place the shredded spring onions and cucumber matchsticks in a bowl of iced water.
Once cooked, lay the crispy lamb belly on a serving plate and shred it like duck.
Drain off all of the fat into a container and reserve for future cooking.
Drain the cucumber and spring onions on kitchen paper.
Serve the lamb wrapped inside steamed Chinese pancakes, spread with hoisin plum sauce and top with cucumber and spring onions. Add an extra sprinkling of 5-spice mix for extra pow and a drizzle of sriracha before you wrap up the pancake.
Serve with a glass of rich, velvety Dark Horse Malbec.
