The initial cooking of the piece of pork is long and slow and can be done a day in advance of your dinner. Then it is just a few minutes on a hot barbecue with a bit of basting.
Ingredients
1 piece fresh belly pork, 1.5 kg, skinned and boned
1 litre Tomato and Maple Syrup Glaze (recipe in the Cook’s Companion App or book)
1 teaspoon chilli sauce, optional
12 baby bok choy, quartered and washed
vegetable oil
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush meat liberally with glaze mixed with chilli sauce (if using) and put directly on oven rack. Position a baking dish with a little water in it underneath meat to catch any drips. Cook for about 1½ hours, depending on thickness of meat. Paint meat every 20 minutes with more glaze. Remove meat and allow to cool and firm on a board. (This procedure can be done hours before the barbecue, even the day before.)
Cut cooled meat into 2.5 cm thick slices. Brush with a little more glaze and sear over hot coals. The glaze will become quite dark on the outside but will have flavoured the meat quite wonderfully.
Blanch bok choy for 30 seconds in boiling salted water, then drain well. Stir-fry bok choy with a few drops of oil and water until bright green, shiny and still crisp. Transfer to a plate, top with barbecued pork and serve immediately.
