Chinese Banquet With Honey-Glazed Pork Belly

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C (fan)/ gas 6

Pat the pork belly dry with kitchen paper, then score the fatty side in a criss-cross pattern (use your sharpest knife - you need to reach the meat below!)

Season with a generous pinch of salt and rub it deep into the criss-cross pattern

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick with a matching lid) over a very high heat and once very hot, add the pork belly, fat-side down and cook for 4 min or until coloured and crispy, then flip and cook for 2 min on the other side

Once done, cut off a quarter of the pork – this is your plain salted pork belly

Season the remaining pork with a crack of black pepper and reserve the pan – this is your peppered pork belly

Transfer both of the pork pieces to a baking paper-lined tray and put them in the oven for an initial 35 min

Meanwhile, add the white long grain rice to a pot with a lid with 175ml [350ml] cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to very low and cook, covered, for 12-15 min or until all the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked

Once done, transfer the cooked rice to a plate and spread it out flat to help it cool down, reserve the pot

Combine the toasted sesame oil, chilli flakes (can't handle the heat? Go easy!) and half the soy sauce (you'll use the rest later!) in a bowl and set aside to infuse – this is your sesame chilli oil

Peel and finely slice (don't chop!) the garlic

Deseed the green pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and chop into large pieces

Trim, then slice the spring onions finely

Wash, then rip the leaves off the spring greens, discard the tough stalks, then layer the leaves over each other, roll them up and slice into thin strips

Add the sliced spring greens to a large baking tray and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, 1 tsp [2 tsp] sugar and a large drizzle of vegetable oil and give everything a good mix up

Set aside for later, then boil a full kettle

Return the reserved pan to a high heat with a drizzle of vegetable oil

Add the chicken breast strips with the remaining soy sauce and cook for 3-4 min or until golden (these will finish cooking in the sauce)

Once golden, turn the heat down to medium-low, add the chopped pepper and half the sliced garlic and cook for 1-2 min further or until the garlic has slightly softened

Once slightly softened, add 1 tsp [2 tsp] flour and mix everything together

Add the black bean paste with 100ml [150ml] boiled water and 1 tsp [2 tsp] sugar, give everything a good mix up and cook, covered for 10-15 min – this is your chicken with black bean sauce

Tip: Remove the lid for the final few minutes if your sauce needs thickening!

Remove the pork pieces from the oven after 35 min

Pour the honey over the top of the peppered pork belly and smooth it over with the back of a spoon (leave the salted pork belly plain!) – this is your honey-glazed pork belly

Return both the pork pieces to the oven for a final 10 min

Add the shredded spring greens to the oven for 8-10 min or until crispy – this is your crispy 'seaweed'

Add the fine egg noodles to a large bowl and cover them with boiled water, then stir for 10 secs to separate the noodles and set aside to soak for 4 min

Return the reserved pot to the heat with a drizzle of vegetable oil

Once hot, add the remaining sliced garlic and half the sliced spring onion (you'll use the rest later!) and cook for 1-2 min or until softened

Add the cooled rice and 1/2 tbsp [1 tbsp] sesame chilli oil and cook for 2-3 min until everything is combined

Once combined, push the rice to one side of the pot and crack the egg[s] into the other side

Stir the egg[s] with a wooden spoon to break the yolk[s] and cook for 1-2 min until it resembles scrambled egg, then mix it all through the rice

Drain the soaked noodles, then mix in the remaining sesame chilli oil and the remaining sliced spring onion (save a little for garnish!) – these are your longevity noodles

Tip: In Chinese custom, it's believed the longer the noodles, the longer your life. So when eating these, try not to bite down too early and instead give them a great big sluuuurp!

Once cooked, remove the honey-glazed pork belly from the oven

Dice the plain salted pork belly and mix it through the egg fried rice – this is your special fried rice

Slice the honey-glazed pork belly into bite-size pieces