Hot and Sour Rhubarb and Crispy Pork with Noodles

Rhubarb is in season, so we're trying to put it into as many things as possible while it is at its peak. We took this recipe out of Jamie at Home, which is a really good cookbook in terms of being arranged according to season and associated foods. Rhubarb in an Asian dish was intriguing so we went for it.

The dish really has it all - sour, sweet, salty, spicy. The more I ate, the more I wanted.

1 kg pork belly, boned, rind removed, cut into 1-1/2" cubes
salt and pepper
groundnut oil , or vegetable oil
375 g egg noodles, medium-sized

4 scallion, trimmed and finely sliced
1 red chili, deseeded, finely sliced
2 bunches watercress
1 bunch coriander, (US=cilantro)
2 limes

The Marinade:
400 g rhubarb
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 garlic, peeled
2 red chili, halved, deseeded
1 teaspoon five-spice, heaping teaspoon
1 ginger, thumb-sized piece, peeled and chopped

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

Place the pork pieces in a roasting tray and put to one side. Chuck all the marinade ingredients into a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth paste, then pour this all over the pork, adding a large wineglass of water. Mix it all up, then tightly cover the tray with tinfoil and place in the preheated oven for about an hour and 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender, but not colored.

Pick the pieces of pork out of the pan and put to one side. The sauce left in the pan will be deliciously tasty and pretty much perfect. However, if you feel it needs to be thickened slightly, simmer on a gentle heat for a bit until reduced to the consistency of ketchup. Season nicely to taste, add a little extra soy sauce if need be, then remove from the heat and put to one side.

Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Get yourself a large pan or wok on the heat and pour in a good drizzle of groundnut (US=peanut) oil or vegetable oil. Add your pieces of the pork to the wok and fry until crisp and golden (you may need to do this in batches). At the same time, drop your noodles in the boiling water and cook for a few minutes, then drain most of the water away. Divide the noodles into warmed bowls immediately, while they are still moist.

To finish, spoon over a good amount of the rhubarb sauce. Divide your crispy pork on top, and add a good sprinkling of scallions, chile, cresses and coriander. Serve with half a lime each.