Pork Belly Stir-Fry with Noodles and Basil

This recipe is from the book that my sister-in-law gave me a few months ago. The book (I Love Bacon!) has so many great recipes, all of them contributed by chefs around the world. I was looking forward to making Iron Chef Cat Cora's "Pig Candy Ice Cream" but that would have to wait as we still have ice cream in the freezer. 

This dish was contributed by Chef Ian Chalermkittichai (hope I spelled that right), chef and owner of Cuisine Concept Co., Ltd. I had to tweak it a bit and substitute some ingredients to use available resources. It turned out to be awesome - a bit spicy but very flavorful. So now I am wishing I made more...


What you need: 

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 finger chili pepper
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, thinly sliced
1/4 cup basil (plus more for serving)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoons coconut milk
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 tablespoon peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 pound rice noodles, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
6 slices pork belly, cut into 1 inch pieces


What to do: 

Cook the pork belly (sliced bacon-style) by baking them like this. Or, you can put them on a skillet and fry them the old fashioned way. Let cool, then slice into 1 inch pieces.

Heat canola oil in a wok over low heat. Add the finger chili and garlic and cook, stirring for about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, 1/4 cup of  basil, fish sauce, oyster sauce, coconut milk, chicken stock, peppercorns, sugar, and rice noodles. Stir well to distribute ingredients evenly.

At the last minute, add the crispy pork belly and stir-fry quickly until everything is fully combined. Check and adjust the seasonings, if necesssary. Garnish with more basil and serve immediately.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: 

1. Original recipe called for green peppercorns and Thai basil. I used regular black peppercorns and sweet basil.
2. Adjust seasonings according to your taste. Skip the finger chili if you don't like spice. Add more coconut milk to tone down the heat (if using chili). 
3. If using green peppercorns, it should be fresh - not dried.
4. You can substitute pork belly with pre-packaged bacon.