These crispy pork pancakes are the perfect substitute for everyone’s favourite takeaway dish. pork is less stressful to cook- and easier to source (and cheaper)- than duck, but is the perfect meat to compliment the sweet marinade and spicy sauce.

Serves 5 (Makes approximately 25 pancakes)- Cooking time: 6 hours (Plus 3 hours marination)

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg (ish) pork shoulder joint. Mine weighed just under, and 1.36kg once I had trimmed the fat.
• FOR THE MARINADE: 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 (heaped) tbsp ginger garlic paste
• FOR THE CHIMICHURRI: 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• half a shallot, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 long red chillies, roughly chopped. Feel free to use as much, or as little chilli as you like for the chimichurri. The best way to test the heat of one, is to nibble on one of the seeds!
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1-inch sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 cup (tightly packed) of fresh coriander and fresh parsley combined. Stems included.
• sprinkling of salt
• EXTRAS: pancake wrappers
• half a cucumber, julienned (don’t worry about the shape/precision of these too much, as long as they as skinny enough to be wrapped in the pancake, it’ll all taste the same once you shove it in your gob!)
• 3 spring onions, washed, trimmed and julienned
• 4 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Begin by trimming the fat on the pork joint. And don’t worry if it’s not perfect either, as long as the majority of the fat is removed, all will be well. Do not, however, throw it away. Whack that oven on high, brush in oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt. It makes perfect pork crackling!
2. Place the pork in a shallow dish and then in a small bowl, mix together the marinade ingredients. Get your hands dirty and rub the marinade into the pork, making sure to get in all the cracks and crevices. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
3. Once done, place in a slow cooker on low for at least 5 and a half hours, until the meat is tender.
4. In the meantime, prep the cucumber and spring onion, and make the sauce. For this, simply blend together all of the chimichurri ingredients. Taste as you go and adjust accordingly. Pop in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until your ready to use it.
5. Once the pork is done, remove from the slow cooker, place in an ovenproof dish and loosely cover with foil. Turn your oven on and up to a high heat. Mix together the brown sugar and salt and cover on the top of the pork joint, using the back of the spoon to press it into the meat. You’ll see that it will already begin to caramelise from the heat!
6. Put the pork into the top of oven for 10-15 minutes, until you can see the crispy, caramelised crust. Remove and let it rest for a further 10 minutes. Then shred with two forks.
7. Whilst the pork is resting, cook your pancakes according to the packet instructions. This will, most likely, involved steaming them for 3-4 minutes.
8. And voila! Fill the pancakes with crunchy veg, sweet pork and the spicy chimichurri. I served alongside a bowl of coconut rice, but these make a wonderful starter or snack.