Roast Pork Shoulder

This roast pork dish is epic. Complete with crackling, steamed bread and an arrangement of pickles and vegetables, it’s a complete banquet worthy of any celebration.

Serves 10

INGREDIENTS

4 kg pork shoulder, bone in and skin on

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons salt

Pickled cabbage (see below)

4x lemons, cut into cheeks

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SSAMJANG

60g red chilli paste

60g white miso paste

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

½ red onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, finely grated

2 spring onions, white part only, thinly sliced

2 long red chillis, finely diced

To make the ssamjang, mix all the ingredients together and set aside.

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STEAMED BREAD

450g Rooster brand steamed bread mix

115g caster sugar

250 ml milk

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil

To make the steamed bread, in a bowl combine the flour and the sugar. Using your hand, mix the flour and the sugar while slowly adding the milk and oil to form a dough. Knead the dough on a work surface for 3-4 minutes until it forms a smooth ball.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

Place on a tray and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

When you are ready to serve the bread, steam the dough balls over rapidly boiling water until the bread rises, about 12-15 minutes.

With a sharp knife, score the pork skin, or you can ask your butcher to do this for you. 
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METHOD

Place a steamer -  large enough to fit the pork - on the stove and bring it to a simmer.   Place the pork shoulder in the steamer and cook for 4 hours.

Preheat the oven 200C.

Remove the pork from the steamer and place it in a large, heavy roasting tin. Rub the oil over the pork skin and sprinkle with the salt. Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until the skin is crisp.

Serve the pork with the steamed bread, pickled cabbage, ssamjang and lemon cheeks.

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PICKLED CABBAGE

(makes 1L)

½ savvoy cabbage

2 tablespoons sea salt

½ dried long red chilli, seeded

½ teaspoon white peppercorns, crushed

½ fresh long red chilli, thinly sliced

500ml rice wine vinegar

230g caster sugar

Cut the cabbage into large chunks and place it in a colander. Rinse under cold running water, then drain well.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the sea salt through the cabbage, then leave it to cure for 3 hours in a colander set over a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Put the dried chillies and peppercorns in a small ovenproof dish and roast them for 2 minutes, or until the dried chilli has blackened slightly and the peppercorns are fragrant.

Transfer the spices to a mortar and pestle and pound until coarsely ground.

Squeeze the cabbage in your hands to extract all the liquid you can. Discard the liquid and transfer the cabbage to a large bowl. Sprinkle over the spice mixture with the fresh chilli.

Heat the vinegar and sugar in a stainless-steel saucepan over medium heat, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and then pour in the hot pickling liquid over the cabbage. Mix well so that the spices are evenly distributed. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Leave for at least 1 week to pickle. Store for 4 weeks in the refrigerator.