Honey Soy Crispy Pork and Rice Noodles

Dig in to this delicious rice noodle and crispy pork dish!

    There is nothing quite like working with soy sauce. Dominican cuisine uses it in different recipes, and so do the French. The day I saw cooks in France working with Tamari Sauce I was shocked. But I didn't understand back then just how important this fermentation is and how much it has been accepted in different cultures. The United States because of heavy immigrant influence obviously has its many dishes that rely on soy sauce, although in Mexico I saw no such thing.
   I'm not saying that Mexicans don't have access to soy sauce or don't use it in their recipes. I'm just saying that, other than Asian restaurants, I didn't see the implementation of soy sauce else where. Mexican's out there please enlighten me, and comment about the subject let me know if I missed something.

  So, rice noodles, my ultimate comfort food, that, and couscous of course! Just heat up some water, drop it all over them and voila! It is just that easy, I like adding salt to the water just to avoid having to salt it later on.

 Choose the amount of noodles you want to make. I use 1/4 of a package and it makes enough for 4 people. Two cups of hot water is enough to submerge the noodles in. But these babies will be done in about 8 minutes.


Crispy Pork                                                                      Put some water to boil in a pot, insert

• 8 oz pork belly                                                  insert all the ingredients. Leave the pork belly 
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbs coriander seeds                                      until white and cooked. The picture bellow gives
• 1 tbs black pepper                                         you an idea on what to be aiming for.  This is a way
• 2 tbs salt                                                      season the meat, cook it and start a process of drying.
• 1 tbs cinnamon

  After boiling the pork for 10 minutes, take it out and put it in the fridge (yes! Exposed to the cold), in this way all the water dries up, and it leads to a crispier pork. You can leave your meat in the fridge for up to 3 days! Just notice that there is no water left. You can also do it for 4 hrs of refrigeration. Although, the drier, the better.

 I use a hot pan, to crisp up my pork. Look for a non-stick pan, no oil require, because the pork belly is full of natural fat you will see, how this fat will serve as our 'oil'. Crisp it up, and leave it there, moving your meat from time to time on all sides, don't forget the skin. Use a fork or a knife to determine just how crispy you want your pork to be. And yes, the crispy will take a while. 

Tips: Use a medium heat for obtaining a great slow crisp.

Honey Soy Sauce

• 2 cups of Dark Soy Sauce                                   Use the same pan with rendered fat to sautee
• 1/2 cup of Honey                                      your veggies, make sure to also add the spices to the fat
• 1 tbs Ginger Paste                                  this way we release their aromas. Add the honey and let
• 2 tbs of Garlic Paste                              it bubble, later adding the soy sauce. Leave to reduce.
• Coriander Seeds
• Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
• Chopped Chives
• 1 cup of Peas
• 1 cup of Sliced Mushrooms
• 1/2 Sliced White Onion
• Salt/Pepper 

Chef Notes: I then drizzle some sauce and veggies over the crispy pork and rice noodles and sit to enjoy my meal with chop sticks, there is just no other way to enjoy this dish! Decorate with chives and a hint of sesame oil, and it's perfect. I hope you enjoy this recipe, it is very close to me and my family, let me know how it turns out.