Coco-Mango Rice with Pork Belly

I’m going to be upfront with you.

I’m not a full-time food blogger. I have a day job. Sometimes, it’s a time-consuming day job. Sometime I don’t have a lot of time to write a full-on story here about why I made a recipe and what it means to me.

I made coconut mango rice with roasted pork belly… cuz I like it.

It’s really good.

You should try it.

Piggy tummy makes my tummy happy.

Coco-Mango Rice with Pork Belly
2 cups rice
2 cups coconut milk
1 ¾ cups water
¼ cup lime juice
2 tbsp sugar
2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and diced

¼ tsp cayenne
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ cup olive oil
1 lb pork belly

olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 500°F. In a small bowl, mix together cayenne, paprika, fennel, cumin, brown sugar, salt, pepper and olive oil.

In a small roasting pan, create a criss-cross pattern in the fatty side of the pork belly with a small knife. Rub the belly with your spice mixture. Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 325°F and cook for 1-1 ½ hours.

Rinse rice. In a rice cooker* combine rice, coconut milk, water, lime juice, sugar and one of the mangoes. Cook.

Remove pork belly from oven (thermometer should read at least 145°F). Let rest for several minutes.

When rice is done, toss in the remaining mango. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with pork belly. Drizzle with olive oil.

*If using a pan instead of a rice cooker, follow cooking times on back of rice bag.