One of my favorite shows is Queer Eye. I love everything about it. It always makes me feel so good because the show is all about celebrating our differences. I also learn a lot from the show because all the guys are experts in their own fields. I mean I French tuck now like no other. Thank you Tan! In episode 2 of season 3, Antoni, the food and wine expert, created these porchetta sliders with Joey, the hero. When I saw how amazing it looked, I knew I was going to recreate this recipe in my own way. For my pork belly slider recipe, I created a five spice pork belly slider with sriracha cole slaw, strawberry mustard, pineapple, and cilantro.
What is five spice powder?
Five spice powder is something that is associated with Asian cuisine, specifically Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine. It is made up of a mixture of 5 spices like its name suggests: star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds. These are the most common spices included in five spice powder but there are variations that include a variety of different spices like anise seeds, ginger root, and nutmeg. I used Simply Organic’s five spice powder which includes cinnamon, fennel, cloves, star anise, and white pepper.
Five spice powder is a great spice to use in both sweet and savory dishes. It is most commonly used with poultry like with duck or chicken. But I think it goes really well with meatier fish like in this salmon recipe.
Making the five spice pork belly
I really loved the idea of a porchetta, but I wanted to do something a little simpler and that took less time when it came to the meat. So I decided to just do pork belly. I marinated it with five spice, coconut sugar (you can sub with brown sugar), paprika, salt, pepper, fish sauce, and vegetable oil. After marinating for 10 minutes, I cooked it on the stove top. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes each side because of how thinly I sliced the pork belly. Because this marinade has sugar, be careful when cooking it over the stove as sugar burns easily. Lower the heat if needed.
Sriracha cole slaw and strawberry mustard
The next components of this slider are the cole slaw and strawberry mustard! I wanted to do an Asian take on this cole slaw, so I made sriracha mayo instead of using regular mayo. I love how it adds a spicy kick to it. On the show, Antoni makes a cherry mustard which I thought was a brilliant idea. It also looks so pretty! At the store, the strawberries were on sale so I thought why not use strawberries instead. This strawberry mustard is what makes this a summer dish. It’s a good balance between sweet and tangy.
The finishing touches
I finished off the slider with pineapple and a bit more cilantro. You can also add any leftover sriracha mayo you have. Add anything or don’t add something to make these sliders your own!
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Pork Belly Sliders
Ingredients
Five Spice Pork Belly
- 1 lb pork belly thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp five spice powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Cole Slaw
- 1 cup red cabbage minced
- ¼ cup carrots shredded
- 2 tbsp cilantro minced
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1 cup mayonnaise
Strawberry Mustard
- ½ cup dijon mustard
- 2 large strawberries
Instructions
- Marinate the pork belly. Combine all the ingredients for the pork belly into a medium bowl. Use your hands to mix everything together and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
- Make the coleslaw. Combine all the ingredients for the cole slaw into another bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- Make the strawberry mustard. Add the dijon mustard and strawberries to a food processor and blitz until a smooth thick sauce appears. Pour into a jar or bowl and set aside.
- At this point the pork belly should be ready to cook. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add in the pork belly in batches. Cook the pork belly for 3-5 minutes on each side or until they are brown. Set aside after cooking
- Now you are ready to put it all together! Cut the sweet rolls in half. Add a few pieces of the pork belly. Top it off with the cole slaw, strawberry mustard, pineapple, and some cilantro. Then put the other half on top and enjoy!
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by Becca Du