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Sticky glazed pork has gained popularity recently. It is succulent, juicy on the inside, and slightly crispy on the outside. It has sweetness from the sticky caramel sauce that thickens and coats it.

Pork belly is used as it is fatty and flavorful and also has a unique texture. It also has umami a basic fifth taste naturally occurring. Also, it is the choice for this recipe as it remains moist through cooking and doesn’t dry out thanks to the fatty layers.

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Ingredients

1. 500g(17.6 oz) Pork Belly,
2. 1 Medium Onion
3. 2 Tomatoes
4. 1 Tbs Ginger-Garlic Paste. [OPTIONAL]
5. 1 Tbs Dark Soy Sauce
6. 1 Tsp Sugar/Honey [ OPTIONAL]
7. 1 Tbs Oyster Sauce [OPTIONAL]
8. 1/2 Cup Water
9. 1 Tbs Vegetable/Olive Oil
10. 2 Tbs Light Soy Sauce [OPTIONAL]
11. 1/2 Tsp, Black Pepper [OPTIONAL]
12. 1 Tsp, Tomato Paste.
13. 1 Bunch Cilantro(Coriander)
14. Green Onion Leaves to Garnish.

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Procedure

1. Cube the pork belly into slightly larger chunks
2. On low heat, add a cold pan then followed by the cubed pork. You should use a cold pan to render out as much fat as possible. Cook on each side.
3. Slice your onions thinly, you can go with red or yellow onions
4. Dice one tomato meanwhile puree/grate the other
5. After 5 minutes your pork should be done rendering and is golden brown and crisp. drain off the excess fat 
6. Add onions and cook till translucent and caramelized
7. Add the ginger garlic paste,1 Tbs oil, soy sauce, sugar oyster sauce in a small bowl and mix till homogeneous and all combined. This is the sticky spicy glaze
8. Pour your sauce over the pork cubes and stir to coat evenly on medium heat for 10 minutes till the sauce reduces, thickens and the pork turns sticky and dark. The sauce turns sticky from the evaporation of liquids(water)
9. Add tomato paste and after a minute, pureed tomatoes followed by diced ones.
10. Cook till tomatoes are withered then add roughly chopped cilantro leaves
11. Garnish with fresh spring onion leaves and take off the heat.

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Notes & Tips

•   This recipe will take 30 minutes and offers a serving of 2 to 3
•  Use a cast iron pan or any heavy pan with a lid. A wok would work as well.
•  If you have frozen pork you can thaw it quickly by adding salt sprinkles all over it
•  Don’t cut your pork chunks too small as they shrink upon rendering and cooking, cut to a slightly larger size so that you don’t end up with pellets. Cut to about 1-inch thick cubes. Also, don’t cut the skin off.
•  When rendering pork, occasionally turn the pieces around with tongs. Be careful as splatter may occur
•  If you don’t have Ginger-Garlic paste, use minced ginger and crushed garlic. If you prefer to chop the ginger then slice it thinly and then slice it all over again. The thinness will add a good texture to the pork wet fry. For minced garlic a rough chop will do.
•  You can add 1Tbs of chopped ginger to the glaze sauce if you love a spicier version
•  Use brown sugar to make the glaze and not the white one as the molasses tastes better with pork, also brown sugar adds a good caramel layer
•  You can use a shallot instead of an onion if you love the mild onion flavor but love the crunch. Chicken, Pork, and Fish are great pairings for substituting onions.
•  If you use red chillies you can remove the seeds if you want mild heat or leave them in if you want more kick
•  While the sauce is reducing, you can opt to add two cinnamon sticks and two cloves if you want more flavor and twist. Take them out once cooking is complete before serving. You can always add more water if your pork starts drying and burning before cooking is complete. You should cook your pork covered to avoid the evaporation loss.
•  Be mindful of salt addition as soy dark soy sauce is heavily salty, adjust salt addition at the end of the cooking process after tasting. If you had used salt to thaw frozen pork initially then don’t even bother with salt addition.
•  Use parsley if you don’t have/don’t like cilantro or skip this step completely
•  You can opt to garnish it with fresh basil leaves instead of spring onions or both if so, please. Take note that the garnishes should be added after the heat has been turned off, as the residual heat will wither them down.

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Serving

This pork dish is so versatile and can be served in a variety of ways. Here are some of the serving suggestions;

As an appetizer: It is visually appealing and aromatic fitting the profile for an appetizer. The flavors exploding in the mouth will stimulate taste buds and appetite for the main meal incoming. Appetizers are served on a small bowl like shown above. Toothpicks or chopsticks or a fork can be used. 

As a main course: A main course is the main or primary dish in a meal. It normally constitutes the largest serving portions accompanied by sides of other dishes. It goes great with rice, egg fried rice, mashed potatoes, or ugali for East Africans.

Use in salads: pairs well with most salads especially ones with pickled veggies and rice salads

In sandwiches: It can be used in sandwich fillings, especially in the balsamic-glazed pork sandwich

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