New flavors, textures await those willing to take a risk

When I was a teen, my dad’s company hired a consultant from New Zealand, and she and my parents became great friends. She was definitely exotic to me, especially because she was such a culinary expert. She took us to restaurants downtown where she ordered off-menu items, and she was never wrong in her picks. She spoke fluent Chinese, and at one particular restaurant she ordered us a feast of Chinese foods I could never have imagined. I couldn’t believe she knew the ropes around a town that wasn’t even her own. She made it her business to know where the best food was everywhere she went.

She came to our house for dinner, which I later realized must have caused my mother some real anxiety. What do you feed someone whose priority is eating well? We had steaks, I remember. I know this particular detail because afterward she looked at my plate and said to me, in an incredulous tone, “Aren’t you going to eat that?”

I looked down at my plate and said, “All that’s left is fat.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Yes,” she said. “The fat is the best part.”

I almost choked. She took the pieces of fat off my plate and chewed them like she was in heaven.

Oh, ignorant youth. I have since discovered the glorious pleasure that softened, caramelized fat can be. I have thought about that teaching moment many times over the years. Risks you take in eating can open up new varieties of flavors and textures. What a waste it would be to stick only to the paths of taste we knew.

Luckily, the current trend is for braised meats and melting fat. The rise in popularity of pork belly in recent years should make that obvious.

Not only is thin-sliced pork belly delicious, it cooks so quickly. There’s no need to wait over hours of braising and grilling. This recipe is a quick weeknight dinner that you can serve with rice or wrapped in bibb lettuce with some sesame seeds scattered on top.

Korean-Style Pork Belly

» 1 pound thinly sliced pork belly

Marinade:
» 1/4 cup soy sauce
» 1 to 2 tablespoons kochujang, to taste
» 2 tablespoons sugar
» 1 tablespoon mirin
» 1 teaspoon sesame oil
» 3 cloves garlic, minced
» 1/4 cup green onions, minced, light green and white parts only, for garnish
» Sesame seeds, for garnish

In bowl, whisk marinade ingredients and add pork belly, making sure pieces are separated. Refrigerate 1 hour, occasionally turning meat.

Place oven rack on top shelf and turn on broiler. Place sheet of tin foil on a sheet pan or broiling pan, and lay pork on foil; do not crowd pieces. Broil 7 minutes or until edges are browned and caramelized. Remove from oven and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serves 3 to 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 4 servingsand not including sesame seeds to taste): 670 calories, 62 g fat, 22 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, greater than 1100 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 13 g protein

Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at thelittlefoodie.com.