Warm-up with a bowl of Pork Belly Vindaloo, a fusion of vindaloo and Chinese red-cooked pork belly. Joe Ricchio, of Food Coma Maine, shared this delicious recipe with us and we had to share it with you. 

Bon Appétite!

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You can always check out other great recipes from Joe on his Youtube channel, @foodcomamaine, but here is a little backstory on this particular vindaloo:

Like many of the dishes we cook on this show, vindaloo is an item found on nearly every menu but tends to vary significantly in terms of quality. A standard element of Goan cuisine derived from the Portuguese Carne de vinha d'alhos (literally "meat in garlic marinade"), vindaloo is a dish of meat (most often pork) marinated in vinegar and garlic.

The basic structure of the Portuguese style was the sailor's "preserved" raw ingredients, packed in wooden barrels in alternating layers of pork and garlic, which is soaked in red wine. This was adopted by the local Goan cooks with the substitution of palm vinegar for the red wine and the addition of spices. Thus, it evolved into the localized and easy-to-pronounce dish "vindaloo."

The British Indian version of vindaloo calls for the meat to be marinated in vinegar, sugar, fresh ginger, and spices, then cooked with more spices. The British favored Goan cooks in restaurants and on ocean liners since they had no restrictions on handling beef, pork, and alcohol.

In this version, I take elements of Vindaloo and Chinese red-cooked pork belly and fuse them together. This results in a spicy, tangy gravy to complement the fatty belly and smoky sausage.

 

(Serves 4-5) Recipe: Lightly toast all of the whole dry spices and grind to a fine powder. Combine all ingredients to make your spice blend (if making from scratch). Blanch the pork belly for one minute in water with a large knob of ginger. Make the spice paste – combine all elements in stir until well incorporated. Sauté the onion in ghee for 5-6 min, or until soft. Add the pork belly and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the spice paste and stir to combine. Add the coconut milk and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil before dropping to a low simmer, covering partially, and cook for 45 minutes. At this point, add the chourico and continue to cook for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more vinegar if necessary. Add lime juice and scallions. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice.