Let’s get one thing out of the way right up front and just acknowledge the fact that I’m using the term “Asian” pretty loosely in this recipe. If you’re looking for authenticity in the genre, I’m not your girl. But if you’re looking for an Asian(ish) recipe that tastes delicious, look no further.
Inspired by my son who cannot eat soy, sesame, gluten, tree nuts, and peanuts (all common in Asian cuisine) I developed this recipe so he could share our meal with us as well. It’s the first time I gave him coconut amino and he tolerated it fine. I’d been nervous previously because like any new product I introduce him to, it’s always a little scary. But coconut aminos are gluten free and soy free and a decent substitution for soy sauce or tamari if you have allergies. It’s a slightly sweeter condiment than both soy sauce and tamari, which means it works well in this recipe because I was going for a (sweeter) teriyaki type of flavor. If you want to use soy sauce or tamari though, I’m sure it would be good too.
I cooked it in the crock pot the day before, and added broccoli and set it to “warm” for a few hours the day we were planning to eat it. I also made rice to serve it on (lots of juices to soak up!) which was awesome, but if you aren’t on team rice then feel free to ditch it. Or sub cauliflower rice. Your call.
Asian Pork Belly with Broccoli and Brown Rice [gluten free, soy free, dairy free, peanut/tree nut free, seed free]
Pork Ingredients:
- 2 pounds pork belly
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 8 oz frozen broccoli florets
- 2 cups brown rice (cooked per instructions) [optional]
Directions:
Grease the crock pot with your choice of cooking fat / oil (coconut, olive, palm, whatever) then add the meat.
Combine the spices to make the rub and pour over the meat. Then add the coconut aminos to the pot (around the sides of the meat so as to avoid dumping it on the meat and removing the spices).
Cook for 6 hours on low. At this point you should be able to easily shred it.
Finally, toss the frozen broccoli florets into the slow cooker and stir in with the meat. Let them thaw (it will take ~ 1 hour but maybe less depending on the size of the florets and amount used) and then serve over rice/grain of your choice.
Notes:
As I mentioned earlier, there are ways to tweak this for a variety of dietary needs. Omit rice to make it paleo friendly. Omit garlic powder or swap for (1 tbsp) garlic infused olive oil to make low fodmap friendly. Add soy sauce or tamari if you’re not sensitive to soy or gluten. I based the rub loosely on this recipe and it’s terrific and needed no other sauce because I added in the coconut aminos.
I actually made the pork a day in advance and kept it in the crock pot in the fridge over night. The next day I scooped some of the excess (solidified) fat off the top before warming it again. I also added the broccoli at this point.
Another cut of meat might work in this recipe (ie pork butt), but I haven’t tried it so I can’t vouch for it. Either way, the low and slow method for pork belly worked great.
I didn’t remove all of it, but I did scrape off some of the white portion (fat) you can see below. Pork belly is such a rich and fatty cut of meat that you can do without some and you aren’t missing out in the least. And that’s coming from a person who LOVES fat (me).
Such a fantastic meal. I don’t think I’d prepare pork belly any other way from now on!!
And in case you were wondering, yes, my son liked this a lot as well (and had zero reactions to it).
I plan to make it again and again with a variety of veggies (ie snow peas, carrots and other ingredients common in Asian stir fries).
ENJOY!
*PRO TIP: Buy coconut aminos via Thrive Market for a WAY discounted rate. There’s an annual fee, but you get 30 day trial membership so just sign up, buy the thing you want for cheap and cancel your membership. Or you may want to keep the membership because it’s actually a kinda awesome online source of speciality foods for people with allergies, etc. and you can get so many staples for over half off (Mary’s Gone crackers, Bob’s Red Mill flours, coconut oils/butters, etc.).
