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Your support makes all the difference.You will have to be patient when you're making this delicious sandwich, as it's not particularly quick to knock up.
A piece of pork belly weighing about 600g
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2tbsp finely grated root ginger
4tbsp hoisin sauce
2tbsps clear honey
1tbsp soy sauce
4 slices of bloomer-style bread about ¾cm thick
A few sprigs of coriander
For the pickled daikon and carrot
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thick matchstick-sized pieces
250g daikon (mooli or white radish), peeled and cut into thick matchstick-sized pieces
1tsp salt
100g sugar
300ml rice wine vinegar Put the carrot and daikon in a bowl and mix in the salt and 2 teaspoons of the sugar. Mix up the carrot and daikon with your hands for a couple of minutes until they lose a few tablespoons of their liquid. Drain in a colander and rinse under the cold tap then dry on some kitchen paper.
In a bowl, mix the sugar with 150ml warm water and stir until dissolved, then add the vinegar and mix with the carrots and daikon. Leave to marinate for at least an hour or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Pre-heat the oven to 175C/gas mark 4. Remove the rind from the pork and cook in lightly salted water for 10 minutes, then drain. Cut into strips, place on a tray and scatter with sea salt. Bake in the oven for about 1 hours or until crisp and keep for a tasty snack later.
Meanwhile, mix the garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, honey and soy together and rub it in all over the pork belly.
Place in a casserole with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for an hour, basting every so often. Remove the lid and continue cooking for another hour, basting every so often. Leave to cool in the liquid for about 30 minutes, turning it every so often.
To serve, toast the bread on both sides, cut the pork into cm-thick slices and wide enough to fit on the bread.
Spoon some of the cooking juices on the bread and lay the sliced pork on top.
Scatter the sandwich with the pickled daikon and carrot and lay a few sprigs of coriander on top.
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