Tart London: How to make Asian-inspired pulled pork baguette

Jemima Jones and Lucy Carr-Ellison put together an ethical, Asian-inspired pulled pork baguette

13 July 2017

A few weeks ago we went to animal welfare campaigner Tracy Worcester’s dinner at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond to celebrate the launch of her Farms Not Factories series of films. It explores chefs who use only high-welfare pork and the passionate farmers who supply them. Tracy is an absolute hero, working to raise awareness of the horrors of industrial, or ‘factory’, pig farming. This is a campaign we care about very much and we’re keen to do our bit.

The awful reality is that more than half of the world’s pigs never experience soil, fresh air or the company of other pigs. They are crammed into concrete pens and pumped full of antibiotics. Factory farms also pollute the ground, air and water while their low prices drive kinder, fairer small producers out of business. We’re helping by appearing in one of Tracy’s videos in which we cook alongside Jemima’s husband, Ben, in his woods in Somerset, where his Tamworth pigs root happily in the cool earth under the sun.

Petersham Nurseries is a breathtaking place, straight out of a Jane Austen scene. There are gardens of wildflowers, handsome Tuscan stones and a restaurant inside the most charming greenhouse where we dined on organic pork prepared by Damian Clisby, head chef of Petersham, James Golding from the Pig Hotel chain and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

What could be better than contributing to a cause that means so much to us while feasting at such a fabulous place? Farms Not Factories works to inspire consumers to follow top chefs’ example by only buying pork from humane pig farms. With that we hope you enjoy a favourite pulled pork sandwich of ours, inspired by Asian cuisine, with lots of delicious spice, sweetness and crunch.

Pretty in pink: Jemima and Lucy put the finishing touches on some cupcakes

Asian Pulled Pork Baguette

Ingredients (serves 6)

1.5kg organic pork shoulder, fatty bits sliced off

For the marinade

5 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tsp Chinese five spice

4 garlic cloves, crushed

5cm knob of ginger, grated

For the salad

1 cucumber

1 carrot

3 spring onions, thinly sliced

3cm knob of ginger, minced

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp fish sauce

1 lime, juice and zest

1 tsp caster sugar

2 bird’s eye chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed

Large pinch of chopped mint

Large pinch of chopped coriander

For the sweet chilli mayo

3 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp sriracha sauce

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

Zest of 1 lime

2 baguettes

Small bunch coriander, shredded

Small bunch mint, shredded

2 red chillies, thinly sliced (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C. In a bowl, mix the marinade ingredients together. Add the pork shoulder and marinate for at least 2 hours. Line a baking tray with a large piece of foil, place the pork in the middle and pour the marinade over. Wrap up in the foil and roast in the oven for 3 hours. Remove every 40 minutes to spoon over the cooking liquid. After 3 hours, open the tin foil and baste once more, then place back in the oven uncovered for a further 30 minutes. Take out and rest.

Chop the cucumber in half. Use a peeler to slice the cucumber into thin strips lengthways. Chop the carrot in half as well, and use a sharp knife to slice into matchsticks. Put in a bowl with all the other salad ingredients, mix well and set aside for 30 minutes then drain, leaving a little liquid in the bowl. Mix together all the sweet chilli mayo ingredients in a bowl and put your baguettes in the oven for 5 minutes to crisp a little. Dig a fork into your pork to break it up and mix it around in the sticky juices. Slice open the baguettes and smother in mayo, followed by the pork, then the pickled veg. Chop each baguette in three and top with the extra torn mint, coriander and chillies, if you like it spicy!

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Tart London: How to make Asian-inspired pulled pork baguette

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