Serves 4

Next to roast duck, roast pork is one of the most popular meat dishes for the Chinese. Pork loin is marinated in an aromatic five-spice mixture, then roasted to a lacquered finish. Serve any leftover slices with noodle soup the following day.

650g pork loin

1 tsp each five-spice powder and black pepper

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp caster sugar

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed

100ml hoisin sauce

1 tbsp rice wine (or dry sherry)

3 tbsp dark soy sauce

300g bok choy

Sesame oil, to drizzle

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 Trim off the fat from the pork loin and discard. Place the meat in a large bowl. Mix together the five-spice powder, pepper, salt, sugar, garlic, hoisin sauce, rice wine and soy sauce and pour it over, ensuring the pork is well coated with the marinade. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill for at least six hours, preferably overnight.

2 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/ Gas 6. Reserving the marinade, place the pork on a wire rack set over a roasting tin and add a splash of water to the tin. Roast for 40-50 minutes, turning and basting the meat with the marinade every 15 minutes, until the pork is cooked through. To check, pierce the thickest part with a metal skewer — the juices should run clear.

3 Rest the pork for 10-15 minutes before slicing into bite-sized pieces. Meanwhile, blanch the bok choy in a pan of salted boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain well. Mix the sesame oil and oyster sauce together in a small bowl. Arrange the bok choy around a serving platter and drizzle over the sauce. Place the roast pork in the centre and serve immediately with fried noodles or steamed rice.

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