This was the first time I had used this cut of meat and all my research was pointing to the same recipe – Donna Hay‘s!
And it was definitely worth it. This recipe is pretty much fool proof and so good you will want to make sure you have some good company to share with!
Preheat the oven to 180C
In the bottom of a cast iron casserole dish, scatter the following:
~ 1 tsp grated ginger
~ 4 cloves garlic (or 2 tsp crushed garlic from a jar)
~ 1 medium red chili, halved and de-seeded
~ 4 star anise (whole)
Place the pork neck on top (mine was about 1.5kg)
Mix the following in a jug:
~ ½ cup brown sugar
~ 1 cup (250ml) Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine) – I found this for $2 at my local asian grocer
~ ½ cup oyster sauce
~ 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice
When the sugar is disolved in the jug, pour the mixture over the pork.
Place in an oven for 2 hours, turning after 1 hour
Baste the pork in the juices
Increase heat to 200C and cook for further 30 minutes until sticky and golden (check around 15 mins to ensure it doesn’t burn)
I served this with coconut rice and blanched greens
N.B. I have also done this recipe in a slow cooker, using the same quantities of sauce.
Place all ingredients into slow cooker, leave to cook on high for 8-9 hours (as long as you can!).
About 15 minutes before serving, take the pork out (be careful as it will probably fall apart) and then strain the liquid into a saucepan to reduce on med-high heat, to make a sticky thick sauce.
** I’ve made other variations along the way:
– add some sichuan pepper instead of chilli
– swap out the brown sugar for a few teaspoons of molasses
– leave out the oyster sauce completely
– use pork shoulder instead of neck/sirloin
Purple Sushi 