Method

Pear and Green Tea Braised Pork Belly: Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Season the pork belly on all sides with the salt and place it in a cold Dutch oven, fat-side down. Sear on all sides over medium heat; set aside.

Add the avocado oil, white parts of the green onions, ginger and garlic to the pot and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the green tea, reserved pear juice, rice vinegar and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Stir in the sugar, gochugaru and white pepper until sugar has fully dissolved.

Return the pork to the Dutch oven fat-side up, cover with a lid, and braise in the oven until tender, 2 to 2½ hours.

Remove the pork from the liquid and let cool. Refrigerate until ready to assemble (this can be prepared up to 2 days ahead).

Strain the braising liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Skim the fat using a separator while warm, or by skimming with a spoon once chilled; reserve for congee.

Short Crust Pastry: Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and chilled butter pieces in a stand mixer. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture is crumbly, about 5 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup of the ice water while mixing on medium speed, drizzling in more as needed until the dough come together.

Divide the dough into two equal portions, press into flat rounds, and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours. (The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance.)

Congee: Rinse the rice and combine it in a saucepan with 3 cups water and the strained, skimmed braising liquid. Bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer for 25 minutes, stirring twice.

Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium-high, and whisk vigorously for 3 minutes until a porridge-like consistency is reached. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Tart Assembly: Halve the pork belly lengthwise and cut it into 36 thin slices, about 1/8-inch thick. Cut the canned pear slices into 2 or 3 pieces each to yield 24 total pieces.

One at a time, roll the chilled disks of dough on a floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut six 4½-inch rounds per disk for a total of 12.

Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and fit a dough round into each cup.

Arrange 3 pork slices and 2 pear pieces in each tart, alternating the layers. Spoon a generous tablespoon of congee into each cup, gently filling any gaps.

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then use an offset spatula to remove the tarts. Garnish with cilantro and sliced green onion tops and serve warm.

Servings