Kurobuta pork, Shaoxing rice wine, kale and apricot

For the pork, preheat the oven to 160°C fan

Remove the bones from the pork belly and reserve. Blowtorch the skin of the pork to remove any bristles

Add the boneless pork belly to a tray with the tamari, cider and enough water to cover. Wrap the tray in one sheet of greaseproof and one sheet of tin foil 

Roast in the oven for 1 hour

After an hour turn the oven up to 180°C. Cook the pork for another hour

After the second hour has passed, turn the oven up to 200°C. Cook the pork for a third and final hour

Remove the tray from the oven and allow the pork to cool in the tray

Once cool, strain off any liquid, place another tray on top of the pork belly and weigh down with heavy weights. Place in the fridge overnight

The following day, remove the weights from the pork. It should now be uniform in thickness

Slice into 3 cm slices, removing any scruffy edges

For the braised pork tongue, toast the cloves in a pan until fragrant

Add to a stock pot alongside the onion, rosemary, bay leaves and pork tongues. Add enough water to cover

Bring to the boil, skimming any scum that forms, and then reduce to a simmer

Simmer for 4–5 hours until the tongues are tender

Remove from the pot and, whilst hot, peel off the thick outer membrane

Allow to cool, then dice into ½ cm cubes

For the Shaoxing rice wine glaze, combine all ingredients in a pan. Gently bring to a boil, making sure that all of the sugar is dissolved. Once it comes to a boil, set aside and allow to cool

For the poached apricots, first cube the dried apricots into 1 cm squares

Add the apricots to a heatproof bowl. Add the water, sugar, isomalt and saffron to a pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, pour over the dried apricots and leave to cool down

For the apricot purée, cook the apricots with the honey and sugar over a low heat until the fruit begins to break down into a thick paste

After about 15–20 minutes, once the fruit has completely broken down, pass the purée through a fine sieve to filter out the apricot skins. If the purée seems very thick, add a splash of water to let it down. It should be the consistency of smooth apple sauce. Set aside and leave to cool

For the apricot fluid gel, weigh out 100g of the apricot purée into a pan. Add 1g of agar agar

Bring to just below a boil, whisking all the time. Once it is about to boil, pour out onto a cold oven tray and leave to set into a thin layer of jelly

Once cool, scrape the jelly into a spice grinder and blend into a pipeable gel. Decant to a squeezy bottle

For the pork sauce, brown the reserved pork bones in a little oil in a stock pot. Turning frequently to get a nice even colour on them

Whilst they are browning, toast the spices in a pan until fragrant. Add them to a saucepan with the sugar and Shaoxing rice wine. Reduce this mix by half

Deglaze the pork ribs with a splash of the brown stock, making sure to scrape up any crispy bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remainder of the brown stock and the Shaoxing reduction

Reduce until the sauce is shiny, viscous and tastes delicious – this will take a few hours. You will end up with around 2 litres of sauce once the bones and spices are strained out

For the crispy kale, remove just the leaves from the kale with a sharp knife, discarding the stems. Try to keep the leaves as large as possible

Heat a few centimetres of oil in a high-sided, heavy-bottomed pan to 160°C

Add the leaves and fry until crispy and slightly translucent

Mix together the sugar and salt. Season the hot crispy kale with the sugar-salt mixture and a sprinkle of togarashi

To plate, preheat the oven to 150°C fan

Pipe a line of apricot purée along one side of the plate. Dress with the chive flowers, anise hyssop and two pieces of poached apricot.

Place a piece of pork in a frying pan and ladle in enough of the Shaoxing glaze so that it comes halfway up the pork. Reduce the glaze until thick and sticky, turning the pork frequently

Place the pork on a tray, spoon over some of the now thick glaze and finish in the oven for 5 minutes

Add 1 tablespoon chives, 1 tablespoon of pork tongue and 6 tablespoons of pork sauce, and warm through on the hob

Remove the pork from the oven, being careful to keep it in one piece as it will be very soft. Place it on the plate slightly offset to the apricot purée

Pile the crispy kale on top of the pork and finish with the pork sauce tableside