Pork Belly with XO Sauce, Avocado Puree and Cauliflower Couscous

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This is a delicious and extravagant pork belly recipe with XO sauce, avocado puree, cauliflower puree, cauliflower couscous, and black & white rice crackers provided by Chef Jiju Rajappen of Sheraton Samoa.

How to Prepare the Pork Belly:

1. In an upright blender place spices and herbs and blend well.
2. Place in a bowl and add salt. Trim off the skin of the Pork Belly and keep skin on the side.
3. Nicely rub Pork Belly with your mix. Keep the rest in an airtight container for further use. Keep Pork belly marinating for about 8 hours, then wash off the remaining mix under cold water.
4. Place Pork Belly in a deep tray with baking paper on top and underneath.
5. Fill up with Pork Master Stock until fully covered and place plates on the baking paper to avoid Pork Belly starts floating while cooking.
6. Add some Garlic and Chili to the stock. Tightly cover tray with cling film and 2 layers of tin foil.
7. Cook in the oven for 2.30 hours at 170 degrees Celsius.
8. Once cooked take out the Pork Belly and place it a new tray with baking paper on top and underneath.
9. Press the Pork Belly by placing a deep container with water on top and keeping it in the fridge for 12 hours.
10. Cut into portions and keep in the fridge until needed.

How to Make the XO Sauce:

1. In a sauce pot bring Pork Master Stock to boil and simmer down to half.
2. In a bowl mix corn flour with cold water, slowly keep on adding corn flour mix to your stock, always checking consistency. You want a slightly thick gluey sauce.

How to Make Avocado Puree:      

1. Peel avocado, remove the seed and place in an upright blender.
2. Add garlic clove and juice of the limes.
3. Blend and slowly add olive oil to get the desired consistency. This will always depend on how ripe your avocado is.
4. Season with salt and pepper and pass through a fine strainer.
5. Store in a squeeze bottle in the fridge until needed. 

How to Make Cauliflower Puree:

1. Heat up butter in a pan and cook cauliflower florets in it.
2. Meanwhile thinly slice onion and add to the pan. Keep on cooking until onions are glassy, then add soda water and simmer down.
3. Add whipping cream and bring to boil again.
4. Transfer into an upright blender and mix until you get a smooth puree. Puree should be smooth and almost like a thick soup, check consistency and add cream if necessary.
5. Keep on the side or in the fridge until needed.

How to Make Black and White Rice Crackers:

1. Separate the rice in 2 pots, 100 g each.
2. Now do the same with the water, 400 g for each pot. A
3. dd 2 g squid ink to 1 pot and keep the other pot plane.
4. Place both pots on the stove over high until boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until rice is fully cooked/overcooked.
5. Transfer the rice without squid ink to an upright blender and mix until you get a thick mushy puree. This will not look appealing but its ok.
6. Spread it on trays over baking paper and dry in the hotbox for 24 hours.
7. Do the same with the squid inked rice and add the remaining 2 g of squid ink to the blender as well.
8. After 24 hours, once almost all moisture has evaporated, take out of the hotbox and keep in an airtight container for another 24 hours to regain a little bit of moisture.
9. Now heat up a pot with oil or deep fryer to 200 degrees Celsius.
10. Deep fry the rice until it puffs up. This should not take more than 5 to 10 sec. Can’t store the cracker for more than a few hours after deep fried as they will turn soggy again after a while so only fry what’s needed. 

How to Make Cauliflower Couscous:

1. Place cauliflower florets in an upright blender raw and flash to get a cauliflower crumble.
2. Finely chop onion, tomatoes and parsley.
3. Combine all ingredients and season with salt, pepper and a dash of lime juice.

Plating: 

1. Squeeze 4 lines of avocado puree in a round plate in random ways.
2. Set the pork belly in the middle and place 1 cornel of cauliflower couscous on top.
3. Left to the pork belly place 1 spoon of cauliflower puree.
4. Finish with 1 spoon of XO sauce, a black rice cracker on top of the cauliflower couscous and some white rice crackers crumbled around. 

Photo credit: Chef on the move