Pineapple and Mango Jam Roasted Belly

Excuse, arrrrrr.......this is my "chin chai simply hantam" version of roasted pork belly. All because I didn't know what to do with this jar of Pineapple and Mango jam.

Do you buy things on impulse? You go to the supermarket, see something interesting and you grab it without a clue what you are going to do with it. That happens to me a lot.

I was rolling around at 99 Speedmart a few weeks before Chinese New Year when I spotted that jar of St Dalfour's Pineapple and Mango jam. It looked nice, I mean the bottle. And two of my favourite fruits combined in a jam, how could I resist? Never mind that I have stopped eating bread/toast and what on earth am I going to do with the jam? Brain switched off, I just grabbed it and paid a small fortune (by my accountant's standard, lah. Might be cheap for the rest of you) for that very slim jar of jam. 

And as usual, that jar of jam sat on my pantry like some decorative item for a few weeks until I decided to open it and have a taste. Yum! I knew I would love it but then what? What am I going to do with it now? Heh..heh...enter pork belly. Why not, I thought? A fruity marinade using jam? I remember Wendy did a Kumquat Roasted Pork Belly but of course she made her own kumquat sauce.

Thus began my experiment. This is my fifth attempt (and second bottle of jam) and I must say that this is the best one so far. The meat was tender, juicy and very tasty after 48 hours of marinating. I love the marinade as it was sweet and fruity with  a refreshing gingery undertone. 

An earlier attempt. A little bit dry.

The pork rind has to be removed because it becomes tough and chewy (yes, I chewed on it). This is not siew yok where the rind becomes crispy and crackly. I find it hard to cut off the rind when the belly is raw and chose to leave it on and remove it after roasting. The roasted pork is very good in a salad. Also very nice served with rice.

To my Muslim friends, I know the main ingredient is haram for you but if you do come in, please take the marinade ingredients with you. Use it with chicken wings, drumsticks or whole chicken legs. I have tried the marinade with chicken wings and they turned out very well.

Let's see, I still have that apricot jam in the pantry and I'm off now to my next experiment....

Pineapple and Mango Jam Roasted Pork

Recipe Source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :

-  2 strips pork belly (you can remove the rind now or after roasting)

For the marinade :

- 3 big cloves garlic, finely pounded

- 2" ginger, finely pounded

- 3 tablespoons pineapple and mango jam

- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce

- 2 tablespoons Thai chilli sauce

- 4 tablespoons light soya sauce

- 4 tablespoons fish sauce

- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Method :

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients.

2. Place pork belly strips into a freezer bag and pour in the marinade.

3. Using your hands, squeeze the bag to distribute the marinade evenly to cover the pork belly.

4. Keep in the fridge to marinate overnight. (I have tried marinating for 48 hours)

5. Before roasting, take the marinated pork belly out of the fridge to come to room temperature.

6. Line baking tray with heavy duty aluminium foil.

7. Place pork belly in a single layer on the tray and cover the baking tray with another piece of aluminium foil.

8. Roast covered at 180C for 45 minutes. Increase temperature to 200C and remove aluminium cover. Continue roasting for another 15 to 20 minutes, and baste with the residual marinade from time to time. Flip the meat after 10 minutes and continue to roast and baste until the residual marinade is thick and meat is slightly charred.

9. Let the roasted meat rest for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Alvin of Chef and Sommelier