Singaporean Black Pepper Pork with Ginger & Chilli Fried Rice

Singapore's food hawker markets have a cult following, and this dish pays homage to a few street food favourites rolled into one plate. The pork gets a proper char under a hot grill after marinating in Yumm Singa's Black Pepper Sauce - deeply savoury, with that distinctive peppery hit. Alongside it, a fried rice spiked with Yumm Singa's Ginger Chilli Sauce for warmth and fragrance, kecap manis for a sticky-sweet backbone, and a squeeze of lime and fresh coriander to lift it all at the end. A quick pickled cucumber salad, finished with a spoonful of Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli Oil, cuts through the richness and rounds the whole plate off. Pile everything into one big bowl and let everyone help themselves.

This is also a brilliant one for the barbecue if the weather's on your side. Cook the marinated pork strips directly over hot coals instead of under the grill and you'll get an even deeper char and a proper smokiness that works beautifully with the black pepper sauce – keep turning them and watch for flare-ups, as the sugars in the marinade catch quickly. The fried rice and cucumber salad can both be made just as easily in the kitchen while the pork cooks outside, so it's a great dish for feeding a crowd in the garden.

Servings 4 | Cook Time: 25 mins | Prep Time: 15 mins | Marinating Time: At least 1 hour (overnight is best)

Ingredients

For the Pork
1kg Pork belly strips (skinless)
1 x 200g jar Yumm Singa Black Pepper Sauce

For the Fried Rice
200g Basmati rice, cooked and chilled (ideally done a few hours before, or even the night before)
4 Cloves of garlic, peeled and finely diced
2 Red bell peppers, deseeded and diced into 1'' chunks
1 Red onion, peeled and roughly diced
150g Chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced
150g Courgettes, diced into small chunks
Fussels cold pressed rapeseed oil for frying
2 tbsps + 2 tbsps Yumm Singa Ginger Chilli Sauce
2 tbsps Habhal's Kecap Manis
1 Fresh lime
Fresh coriander

For the Cucumber Salad
1 cucumber, sliced lengthways, seeds removed and cut into strips
2 tsp Caster sugar
1 tsp Fine salt
1½ tbsp Rice wine vingar
2 tsp Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli Oil

Instructions

1. Start by marinating the pork. In a non-metallic container, mix the whole jar of black pepper sauce with the pork belly strips until everything is coated. If you only have an hour to marinate, set this to one side - if you are marinating for any longer (or overnight), place in the fridge.

2. When stir-frying rice, it's always best to use rice that's been cooked and then thoroughly cooled – ideally you want the rice grains to be cold and dry. If I haven't thought about doing this until the evening I want to make fried rice, I cook the rice as soon as possible, then tip it onto a tray to cool for 10 minutes, then put the rice in the freezer for half an hour. It's not as good as using rice you've cooked that morning or the night before, but it will work.

3. Preheat your grill to 225°C.

4. Heat some oil in a wok or large frying pan and, on a high heat, stir-fry the red peppers. After a minute or so, add in the red onion and continue to fry for a further couple of minutes. Then remove the vegetables to a bowl.

5. Keep the wok on a high heat, add a little more oil and stir-fry the mushrooms. Again, once cooked, remove to the bowl with the peppers and onion. Finally, repeat with the courgettes.

6. Prep the cucumbers ready for the salad.

7. I like to cook the pork under a hot grill, raised up on a wire rack so the heat goes all the way round. I don't have anything particularly fancy – a repurposed wire cake cooling rack does the job, sat on a baking tray lined with foil. Arrange the pork belly strips on the rack and pour over any marinade residue left. Then place under the hot grill, around 4 inches from the heat, for around 10 minutes. Just keep an eye on it, as the timings will vary a little depending on your oven set-up. Set a timer!

8. When your 10-minute timer goes off, the pork should have a nice bit of charred colour. Turn the pieces over and put back under the grill for another 10 minutes. Set another timer!

9. Whilst the pork is cooking, sprinkle the sugar, salt and vinegar over the cucumbers.

10. Now start frying the rice. With your wok on low, add 2 tbsp of oil and gently fry the garlic. Add in the rice and turn up the heat, stirring all the time. Cook for about a minute, then stir in 2 tablespoons of Yumm Singa Ginger Chilli Sauce. Cook for another 30 seconds, stirring all the time, then add in the cooked vegetables from earlier. Continue to fry on a high heat until the vegetables have heated back up – keep stirring.

11. When your second timer goes off, the pork should look the pork should look deeply golden with charred edges – golden brown with charred edges. Remove from the oven and leave to rest whilst you finish the rice.

12. Once everything in the wok is hot, finish with a couple more spoons of Yumm Singa Ginger Chilli Sauce and a good couple of tablespoons of kecap manis, turn off the heat,
and squeeze in the juice from 1 lime and some chopped coriander.

13. To finish, mix the Lao Gan Ma into the cucumbers.

14. I like to serve everything in one big bowl, piled up, so everyone can dig in.