This Little Pig has the most simple roast pork recipe in the world. Anyone could do this. If any of this porcine’s friends who have kids would have let it, it would have got a four year old to try out this recipe to show the world how easy it is. Unfortunately and strangely enough, parents get squeamish with four year olds pulling sizzling hot trays out the oven. SO..you will just have to take This Little Pigs word for it, that this is an easy recipe.

Anyway, the point is piglets, that whilst it takes a while in the oven, you literally just rub salt and pepper on it, pop it in the oven and don’t touch it again (apart from turning the temperature nozzle down once). When this fine swine heard about this recipe it struggled with it (“surely it needs star anise, fennel seeds, organic olive oil and garlic???”) but it held back and did it just as instructed and the results were breathtaking.

So here is where it gets tricky, what to do with it all? Several options here piglets.

When it initially comes out of the oven sizzling with crunchy crackling, you may be tempted to serve it with a lovely creamy mash, some crunchy beans and perhaps sautéed fennel, onion and green apple, you may do this. However, what to do with the leftovers? Look no further than this Banh Mi – Vietnamese pork roll, which is just..oh wow, life changing. You’ll look over the recipe and think, “it’s just a pork and salad roll…” DON’T BE FOOLED PIGLETS! IT’S ACTUALLY HEAVEN IN A ROLL! Something about the flavour combinations takes this zesty, fresh number to new heights. So pop on the pork, don’t invite too many people over (so you have lots of leftovers) and then try out this absolute beauty. Phoooweeee.

Slow Roasted Vietnamese Pork Shoulder Sandwich.

Feeds: 4-6 Hungry Piglets.

Prep Time: 10 Mins. Cooking Time: 2.5 hrs.

Ingredients for Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder:

2.6 x Kg pork shoulder on the bone with pre-scored skin (make sure your butcher does this for you – its tricky without the sharpest knives on the planet).

2 x Tbs Sea Salt

1 x Tbs Pepper

Ingredients for Banh Mi:

4 x Crunchy Fresh Bread Rolls

2 x Lebanese Cucumbers

2 x Carrots

2 x Coriander Bunch

1 x Red Chilli

2 x Tbs Maggie Seasoning Sauce (this is the secret ingredient – do not miss him)

4 x Tbs Good Quality Aioli

8 x Spring Onions

Method of Slow Roasted Glory:

**It must be said here piglets that this is one of those times where you DEFINITELY should shun such places as the big supermarkets (we won’t mention any names but one of them rhymes with the word Moles) and head to your local butcher – preferably Frank Torres in Bulwer St. These lads know their meaty stuff and you can literally talk to them for hours about the origin, the best cut and how to serve it. In this case the things you are looking for is:

• Skin on and scored for you – don’t attempt this yourself unless confident/have a YouTube video/have a Stanley knife or sharpest knife in the world.
• Wrapped only in paper – if it’s wrapped in plastic the skin gets wet and the crackling will not crackle and then there is no point to life.
• On the bone.

Got all of that? Good piglets now trot off to Frank Torres.

• Preheat oven to the hottest of hot it will go i.e. Around 250 degrees.
• Take your pork shoulder out and make sure the skin is lovely and dry.
• Rub your salt (2 Tbs) & pepper (1 Tbs) into the skin and all over the shoulder.

• Pop it in a tray immediately after salt and peppering (if you wait the salt will bring the moisture to the surface and the crackling won't crackle) and place in your ridiculously hot oven for 30 mins.
• After the 30 mins is up, reduce heat to 180 and cook for 2 hours (you can also drop it to 120 and cook for longer if you want to get the pulled pork effect to the max) or until cooked through and just starting to shred when taken to with a fork.

• Pull off the crackling and delight in the SNAP noise as you break it off. Now eat a little of it whilst it’s hot – chefs perks.

Banh Mi:

• Either using a mandolin peeler or a sharp knife. Slice your carrot and cucumber into very thin strips.

• Chop off the base and tops of your spring onions and finely slice into circles.

• Slice up your red chilli.
• Rip all the coriander leaves off the stem and discard the stem and roots (you can yell, “you are the root of all evil” as you toss them in the bin, to add some drama in the kitchen).

• Cut open your bread rolls and slather with 1 Tbs of your aioli into each roll.
• Drizzle 1 Tsp of your Maggie seasoning over the top of the aioli in each roll.

• Now stuff with slices of pork (and if you could contain yourself by not eating it all earlier, some of the crackling), wisps of carrot and cucumber and slices of spring onion.

• Top with a heap of coriander leaves (don’t be stingy piglet), your slices of red chilli and your spring onion slices.

• Now jam it all together, cut it in half on a diagonal to keep the authenticity of the whole meal and then stuff it in your mouth. Commence flavour explosion.