20 June 2010

Coconut Noodles with Honey Glazed Pork Belly : An International Incident


I was really excited about this month's theme for the International Incident. It is Noodles!  This month I really wanted to cook something I would have never tried if it wasn't for this challenge.  I also wanted to try something a little different.


I decided to replicate a dish I had at Fenix in Richmond, Victoria from memory.  Fenix has since changed from a fine dining restaurant to a Wedding and Function centre.  It is owned by Raymond Capaldi and Gary Mehigan (from Masterchef Australia).  When it was a restaurant, Hubby and I used dine there often.  In fact, it was Hubby's favourite restaurant.


My favourite entree dish that I always had was the coconut noodles with caramalised pork belly in a Laksa style sauce.  This is the dish I made for the Noodles Party.

The first part of the dish was to make the coconut noodles.  It basically is coconut milk and agar agar.


agar agar

Coconut Jelly 

400ml can coconut milk
200ml water
50g agar agar strands

Place all the ingredinets in a pot on medium heat
Stir constantly till agar agar dissolves
Pour through a sieve into a dish
Refrigerate until set



When the coconut jelly is set, cut into into long noodles

The dish is served with pork belly.  I used a honey glaze on my pork belly. 

honey glazed pork belly

Honey Glaze:
1/2 cup honey
2 tbl dark soy sauce
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp ground ginger

Place all the ingredients in a small pot and cook over a low heat for 5-7 minutes.  Strain and reserve until needed.

800g pork belly
6 cups hot chicken stock
2 medium onions quartered

Placed the pork belly in a large pot or casserole dish and pour over the hot chicken stock and add the onions.  Place in the oven covered and cook for 2-3 hours or until the pork is tender.

Once the pork is cooked, remove from the oven and place on a baking tray with another tray on top and a weight (for example, 2 cans of beans) to help weigh down the pork.  Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.  Overnight is preferable.

Preheat the oven to 180degC
Once the pork has been pressed, remove the trays and cut into portions about 5cm wide.  Place the pork skinn side down in a cold, non-stick pan with a little olive oil and begin to crisp the skin over a low-medium heat.  Spoon half of the honey glaze over the pork.

Place the pan into the hot oven and colour all the sides of the pork, spooning over the rest of the honey glazw.  Keep a close eye on the pork as it can burn easily.

Once it's coloured and crispy, remove fro  the oven, cut in small slices and set aside till ready to use in the dish.

Laksa Style Sauce:
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp ground almond
1 lemongrass stalked finely sliced
1 tsp shrimp paste
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp tumeric
2 tsp ground coriander


Place all ingredients in a mortar and pestle and pound until it forms into a paste.  Vegetable oil may be needed to blend easier.

To make the sauce, place tthe paste in a small pan and sauté gently until fragrant.  Add 250ml coconut milk.  Simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes


 To dish up, place the coconut noodles in a circle in a bowl, place the pork belly scattered around.  Pour a little of the laksa sauce into the bowl.  To garnish, add blanched snow peas and finely sliced chilli.


Fellow Party People:


 Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

16 comments:

/* */ penny aka jeroxie said...

oh WOW! That is a beautiful dish and I am so super glad that you made it! Have to try this too. What an interesting dish. Coconut noodles concept if brilliant

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Anonymous said...

I have not seen any noodles made of coconut and agar agar! It's an eye opener! Love this event. I am all hungry and craving for noodles.

/* */ Lauren aka Ms Baklover said...

How clever! I am a laksa tragic so this just looks divine. Well done!

/* */ Caroline said...

WOW, that looks so awesome! I have never heard of coconut noodles made with agar-agar, so cool! Gonna make this :)

/* */ Anh said...

This is so awesome! *I am borrowing this idea, id you don't mind* :P

/* */ Mardi Michels said...

What an awesome combination of flavours there - I want some. NOW!! Bookmarked for sometime hopefully sooner rather than later!

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Anonymous said...

Wow! I'm fascinated with coconut noodles, it's a must try for sure! And the honey glazed pork belly is so mouthwatering and tempting!

/* */ Evelyne @ CheapEthnicEatz said...

FANTASTIC idea, seems like we went along the sames line...yours was a success. This looks just so divine!

/* */ Jo - SecondHelping said...

What a superb looking dish. Congrats to you for attempting it and pulling it off so well.

/* */ Unknown said...

The bright white of the noodles contrasting with the food is so stunning.

/* */ Shirley said...

Coconut noodles with Agar agar is simply brilliant

/* */ Tasty Trix said...

Those coconut noodles are the coolest thing. Ever. I have never seen that, but I want it!!

/* */ Kristina Nina said...

Wow so creative!! The dish looks beautiful. I want some too!

/* */ Tangled Noodle said...

Your coconut noodles are so cool! With pork belly and laksa sauce, the whole dish looks fantastic. Now, I wonder if we can use the noodles in a dessert? 8-)

/* */ Agnes said...

Coconut noodles! What a fab idea. And GOSH that pork belly looks good.

/* */ Kimberly Peterson said...

This looks amazing I might actually try this someday! I love the idea of coconut noodles! Well done :)

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