Pork Belly Burnt Ends Banh Mi

Ingredients

• Pork Belly Burnt Ends
• 2½ pounds pork belly, skin removed
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons five-spice powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Sandwiches
• 4 long, thin-crusted French or Italian rolls, split lengthwise
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise, preferably Kewpie
• 1 jalapeño pepper, sliced into thin rounds, seeds removed
• sweet-sour Asian pickled veggies, store-bought or homemade
• fresh cilantro sprigs
• 1/2 seedless English cucumber, cut into thin rounds
• 2 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

Method

1. Make the pork belly burnt ends: Preheat the oven to 300 F.
2. Cut the pork belly into 1- to 2-inch cubes, making sure each piece includes a mix of meaty and fatty layers. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, five-spice powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper. Sprinkle over the pork and toss well to coat.
4. Arrange the pork on a 9- by 13-inch metal baking pan (preferably nonstick). Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
5. Bake for 1¾ hours. Remove the foil, stir the pork and increase the oven temperature to 350 F. Bake until the pork is dark brown and tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 30 minutes. If it seems too dark, tent with foil.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, grated ginger and minced garlic.
7. Drain the pork in a colander to remove fat. Add the pork to the sauce and toss to coat. Return the sauced pork to the baking pan.
8. Return the pork to the oven and bake, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces to a dark glaze and the pork edges are crisp, about 15 minutes. (Optional: Broil briefly for even crisper edges.)
9. Remove from the oven. Divide pork and sauce into 4 portions for serving.
10. Make the sandwiches: Spread the inside of each roll with 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise.
11. Add a portion of pork and sauce to the bottom half of each roll.
12. Top with jalapeño slices, a few drained pickles, fresh cilantro sprigs, cucumber slices and a sprinkle of scallions.
13. Cap with the top half of the roll and cut in half. Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side.