KUNG PAO SMOKED PORK BELLY

Original recipe and photo credit goes to TheBBQBuddha.

A few weeks ago I posted a recipe for Pork Belly Burnt Ends, which is just cubed pork belly, smoked, and cooked in BBQ sauce.  For this recipe, I combined the low and slow method of pork belly burnt ends with the sauce from the Kung Pao Chicken recipe all on my Big Green Egg.  Now sit back, grab a nice glass of Reisling, and enjoy this post for Kung Pao Smoked Pork Belly.

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ pounds pork belly (cubed)
  
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• 4 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry, if unavailable)
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  
• ⅓ cup peanut oil
  
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns toasted in hot skillet for 30 seconds until fragrant, ground using mortar and pestle
  
• 3 scallions, whites finely minced, and greens finely sliced, reserved separately
  
• ½ cup roasted unsalted peanuts
  
• 2 cloves minced garlic
  
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  
• 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar (or distilled white vinegar if unavailable)
  
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan fermented chili-bean paste (or generic Asian chili-garlic sauce if unavailable)
  
• 2 teaspoons sugar
  
• 12 hot Chinese dry chili peppers, seeded
  
• 2 small leeks, white and light green parts only, cut into ¼-inch slices (about ½ cup total)
  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cube the pork belly into 1" pieces
   
2. Cover with a base (I used mustard) and season with Salt and Pepper
   
3. Set your smoker to 275° using Hickory for the smoking wood
   
4. Set your pork belly inside the smoker on a wire rack for 3 hours or until they measure 190°
   
5. You can spray the pork belly every hour with apple juice to keep moist
   
6. After 3 hours (or 190°) pull the pork belly and set aside
   
7. Mix the Soy sauce, Vinegar, Cornstarch, and chili bean paste together
   
8. Saute' the leeks, green onion bottoms (white parts), garlic, and ginger in peanut oil until fragrant
   
9. Put pork belly in aluminum pan and cover with aromatics and sauce
   
10. Cover and place back in your smoker for 30-60 minutes (or until the sauce thickens
    
11. Toss everything with the Sichuan peppercorns, tops of green onions, and peanuts
    
12. Serve over rice or noodles