Crispy roast pork belly (Thit heo quay)

Impress your family or friends at your next dinner party with the most amazing crackling and succulent roast pork belly.It's not as hard as you may think and best of all with just a handful of ingredients.

Once considered a lesser cut of pork, it's fast becoming a favourite among chefs and is constantly appearing on menus of many fine dining restaurants.

Pork belly is without a doubt my favourite cut of pork, the layers of fat in this particular cut keep the meat really moist and juicy. There is no denying, crispy roast pork belly has a universal appeal. With its tender, juicy, porky goodness and crackling that is to die for. It's worth walking those few extra kilometers the day after to burnt off the calories.

Pippies with XO sauce

Pippies in XO Sauce is a Cantonese classic and one of my favourite dish. In my opinion, anything that ends in 'with XO sauce' is good. The extreme umami flavour from the combination of dried scollops, dried shrimps and ham, coupled with aromatic spices is near impossible to resist.

In chinese cuisine, XO sauce is considered the most luxurious and indulgence of all sauces. Often referred by many as the caviar of the orient, the exact origin of this sauce is still a mystery. Many believed, it originated in Hong Kong in the early 80's. Where is served as a table condiment in higher-end seafood restaurants. With the recipe jealously guarded by chefs and restauranteurs. The popularity of this flavour packed sauce soon spread internationally. XO sauce is  now available in most Asian supermarkets, lee Kum kee brand XO sauce being the most well known. XO sauce is fantastic in stir-fry and especially good with seafood. A couple spoons of XO sauce will add that extra something special to any dish.