Wine and food pairing: pork belly, scallop and sweet and sour mango

When I first tasted a piece of pork belly, I knew I'd found my ultimate guilty pleasure. I wanted to incorporate it into my "all-out" cooking evening for the loyal group of friends at Le Club des Vins.

I still had a bottle of 2009 Riesling in my cellar. The acidity of the Riesling complements the fattiness of the pork belly, but it needs something to complement it. "Something Asian" would be a good fit. I scoured the internet for a matching recipe and came across this one from The Food and Wine Hedonist: Scallops and Pork Belly Recipe . Just reading the recipe makes my mouth water...

Difficulty level

The dish isn't difficult, but it is time-consuming. It's recommended to marinate the pork belly overnight. Start the next morning so you can serve it that evening. Take your time, and it'll all work out just fine.

This recipe consists of four parts: the pork belly, the mango, the coriander dressing and the scallops.

Pork belly

The ingredients of this recipe are based on a starter for 10 people.

• 750 grams
• 3 tbsp grated ginger
• 3 cloves of grated or pressed garlic
• 1/2 grated red pepper
• 60 ml fish sauce
• 30 ml soy sauce
• 3 stalks of lemongrass
• 1 tbsp ginger syrup (honey can also be used)
• veal stock (chicken is also possible)
• olive oil
• freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step plan:

Start the day before so the pork belly can marinate overnight.

1. Mix the garlic, ginger, pepper, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce together.
2. Cut the fatty side of the pork belly diagonally in a diamond pattern to allow the flavors to penetrate.
3. Let the pork belly marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
4. Preheat the oven (the next day) to 150 degrees.
5. Place the pork belly in an ovenproof pan and add the lemongrass, soy sauce, remaining fish sauce, and enough stock to completely cover the pork belly. Bring to a boil.
6. Once it boils, place the pan with the lid in the oven for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
7. After 2.5 hours, let the pork belly cool slightly. Then, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours. Place something heavy on top to keep it flat. This will help with slicing later.
8. Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator an hour before serving to allow it to come to room temperature.
9. Cut the pork belly into square slices.
10. Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat and fry the pork belly until golden brown and crispy.
11. Add 1 tbsp ginger syrup halfway through and let it simmer.

Sweet and sour mango

This is 'pickled' mango, but how do you say that in Dutch? Pekelen?

• 200 ml water
• 150 grams of sugar
• 2 mangoes
• 100 ml rice vinegar
• 1 tsp kitchen salt
• 1 clove
• 1 tsp mustard seeds (ground)
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 tsp chopped or grated ginger
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

Step-by-step plan:

You can make this in about 15 minutes, plus an hour of waiting time.

1. Mix everything together except the mango and place in a saucepan.
2. Heat this until the sugar has melted.
3. Taste the mixture to see if it is balanced, otherwise add another tablespoon of sugar or a pinch of salt.
4. Let it cool.
5. Add the mango and let it soak for at least an hour.
6. If it won't be too long, you don't need to refrigerate it. If you do, make sure to take it out in time. Stone-cold mango isn't good.

Coriander dressing

This sauce was also in the recipe, but I had to recreate it. Canola oil is disgusting. It has a very strong flavor, so don't use too much or even any at all. It's not strictly necessary to make this dressing, but it does add a nice color to the dish.

• 40 grams fresh coriander, blanched
• 30 ml water
• 15 ml olive oil
• 1 drop of rapeseed oil (or none at all)
• salt and pepper

Step-by-step plan:

You can make this in about 10 minutes.

1. Blanch the cilantro. How do you do it? It's very simple. Boil a generous amount of water in a kettle and place the cilantro in a sieve over a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the cilantro and, if necessary, repeat with the reserved water.
2. Squeeze the coriander, removing as little water as possible.
3. Add the other ingredients and use an immersion blender to make a fairly thick dressing.
4. Too thick? Add a little more water and/or olive oil.

Scallops

The scallops take the least time, but the greatest precision.

• 10 scallops (1 per person)
• Salt / pepper
• Butter, olive oil

Step-by-step plan:

Do this step last, when the pork belly is almost crispy. See above.

1. Make a paste of butter and olive oil (ratio 1:1).
2. Dry the scallops and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Toss them in the butter/olive oil, but don't let too much stick.
4. Use a grill pan and let it get really hot over high heat.
5. Set your stopwatch for 90 seconds.
6. Place the scallops in the hot pan and grill them for 90 seconds per side.
7. Ready? Set. Go!

Layout

Now for the fun part of the evening: plating the plates. Seriously, check out those Pinterest boards about The Art of Plating . We're going to stack them!

Place a few mango slices on the bottom of the plate. Top with the crispy fried pork belly. As the icing on the cake, place the scallop on top of the pork belly. Drizzle the plate with a few drops of cilantro dressing.

Wine and food

Along with the pork belly, we drank a Riesling from the French winery Hugel, which I'd picked up last summer during a holiday in Alsace. To heighten the tension, I paired it with a Gewürztraminer from the same region. There was a huge difference between the two wines. The Riesling was from 2009, but still had a sharp freshness. The Gewürztraminer was all floral. It's always fun to serve Gewürz—the aroma continues to surprise everyone. They're both a hit. You can't choose between two winners. As expected, the acidity of the Riesling cut through the fattiness of the pork belly. It provides a refreshing touch. The Gewürz has less of that effect, but it makes a harmonious whole. The spiciness of the wine complements the coriander well.

Want more recipes? Check out the Wine and Food page .