Step 1

Dice your bird’s eye chili and your 3 garlic cloves into thin pieces. Dice your shallot.

Step 2

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Once your oven is ready, place your pork jowls into a braising pan and add water until the pork is halfway submerged.

Step 3

Add your soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine, sugar, garlic, chili, 1 stick of cinnamon, and salt and pepper to the water. Bring the pan to the boil on the stove and reduce it to a simmer.

Step 4

Add a tight lid or foil to cover your pan and then transfer into the oven to cook for 2 hours. You know it’s ready when the meat looks tender.

Step 5

De-fat the mixture by skimming off the liquid fat. Alternatively, you could refrigerate it and wait for the fat to solidify on the top.

Step 6

Remove the meat from the liquid and break it into bite-size chunks and put them into a bowl.

Step 7

Once you’ve removed the fat from the liquid mixture, add it to a saucepan and cook until reduced. It should be rich and syrup-like and not too thin.

Step 8

Add your cooked pork back into the mixture on the stove and heat through. Adding in your diced shallots to fry as well.

Step 9

Serve up your Thai-inspired pork jowl with garnishes of basil, cilantro, or even scallions.

Step 10

Thinly chop your chili peppers and cilantro leaves and place them in a bowl. Then using the flat surface of your sharp knife, press the garlic cloves and then chop into fine pieces. Dice your shallot and carrot into thin slices.

Step 11

Rinse your pork jowls with cold running water and then pat dry with a paper towel. Then place it into your ziplock bag or airtight container.

Step 12

Add all of your wet ingredients and dry ingredient ingredients to your container of choice on top of the pork jowls. If you’re using a ziplock bag you’ll want to lightly squeeze the air out and zip the bag shut. You can shake the bag if you wish or you can massage the ingredients into the meat with your hands.

Step 13

If you’ll be using an airtight container, you can put a tight lid on and shake the container around so the ingredients all mix. Alternatively, you could use your hands to mash everything into the meat and then place your lid on top.

Step 14

Leave your meat to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Step 15

The next day, pour some olive oil into a large pan and place the pork jowls into the pan. You can pour all the mixture in or you can use tongs to place just the meat into the pan. Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes making sure the jowls are cooked through. If you’ve poured in all the sauce, you can leave it to simmer and reduce it down on low heat.

Step 16

You can add honey at this point or later on when you are serving. Let the sauce cook until it is sticky and thicker.

Step 17

Serve with white or brown rice and garnish with honey and pepper.

Step 18

Cut and peel your 2 medium carrots into thin rounds. Dice your celery stalks into ½ inch pieces. Dice your onion into ¼ inch slices.

Step 19

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Whilst it warms up, sprinkle your salt and pepper onto the pork cheeks, you can rub it into the meat if you want to.

Step 20

Add a couple of tablespoons into a skillet on medium heat and add the jowls, cook until the surface is brown on both sides. It should take 3-5 minutes. Remove from the skillet using tongs and place on the side in a bowl.

Step 21

Add your chopped vegetables to the skillet and saute. Then pour in your cup of chopped tomatoes, 2 cups of dry white wine, and your rosemary and thyme. Stirring thoroughly with a wooden spoon or tablespoon to ensure it’s all mixed.

Step 22

Add your cooked jowl and stir everything together, making sure your meat is evenly coated. Simmer in the skillet for a couple of minutes.

Step 23

Cover your skillet and put it in the oven for 1.5-2 hours until it is tender. You know when it’s done when the meat falls apart.

Step 24

Serve up with your sides and be generous with the sauce when plating up.

Step 25

If your pork jowl is not already cut, then cut thinly cut with a sharp knife into ¼ inch slices.

Step 26

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Step 27

Arrange the bacon strips on the parchment paper, leaving 1 ½ inch between each strip. Cover the bacon with the other sheet of parchment paper to absorb excess oil from the meat whilst it cooks.

Step 28

After 15 minutes remove the tray from the oven and remove the parchment paper from the top of the bacon. Then place the baking tray back into the oven for a further 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

Step 29

You’ll know the bacon is done when it’s a dark honey color. Arrange your bacon pieces in your bread buns and top with your choice of sauce. The British normally use Heinz Ketchup or HP sauce on their classic bacon rolls.