The masterstock is a great base for any sauce, and once you have an old one, is delicious simply as a soup with some won tons floating in it with some torn iceberg lettuce and coriander. Chef Greg Malouf makes a great claypot braised chicken with Middle Eastern spices in a five year old masterstock, he garnered the stock knowledge when working in Hong Kong years ago.

I think Riesling would be too piquant with the pork, perhaps you would prefer a pinot gris? An Amontillado Sherry would possibly also work with the dish.

Marsanne is often considered a white wine that will stand up to pungent dishes in the way a red wine will. With delicate dishes it can seem soapy.

We had the All Saints Family Reserve Marsanne at their winery restaurant on the weekend that complemented both soft shell crab with Asian Flavours and a braised Cottechino sausage dish. There are also some bolder ones being made in the Limestone coast region.

Looks like I’ll be making more pork belly in the near future anyway :)

I’ve tried to like Marsanne… I really have… but it just doesn’t do it for me. I just get abundant soapy characters. I think next time I’ll substitute with a Viognier or a crisp Riesling.

The best master stocks are those you continue to reboil and add to over time. So I always reserve some in the freezer to make the next batch with. The flavour improves each time and after a year you have an incredibly deep, rich brew.

As for the belly pork dish we make something less complicated but very satisfying. We braise the pork in a claypot in a Vietnamese caramel sauce alongside ginger, galangal and star anise. Then we roast it briefly at the highest temperature our oven will allow and serve with a sticky reduction of the braising liquid which has had a little maltose added to the brew. I like to eat it with a cucumber and cabbage salad with Asian herbs and Nahm Jim dressing.

Congee is something I do easily in the rice cooker and we make it creamy by adding sheets of dried tofu skin.

If you’re looking for a white wine that will do this justice, go for a Marsanne.

I’m yet to make my own master stock. I love the idea of the flavours developing over time and successive boiling with meats… but lack the commitment to actually see it through to any rewarding conclusion.

The basic stock does sound good though, and similar to a few different braising concoctions I’ve whipped up for pork belly over the years.

How often do you do something with the one you had since 2003 ?

Have you tried just doing pork belly in master stock with coconut rice? Simple, easy, absolutely delicious.

I started a new master stock from scratch here in Sydney, which was both good and bad. The good was that I got to start it from scratch with a really good mix of stuff, learnt from experience. The bad was that it simply doesn’t yet have the depth of flavour of the est. 2003 master stock that I have sitting at home. (Yeah, I know, it’s cool!)

Tips:

*Use a mixture of about 4 parts honey to one part maltose for the sugar component (note that the maltose isn’t actually very sweet, so you need to use more total sugar than usual)
*Light soy instead of the heavier stuff – there is no need for the caramels in the heavier stuff if you have maltose for colour, so you can use a soy sauce that actually has flavour
*Haven’t tried sake in it instead of shao hsing wine, but it could work
*Dried mandarin peel is amazing
*You can’t put in too many aromatics
*Contrary to my fears, you can leave the stock with meat and cassia bark in it in the fridge overnight without the cassia imparting a bitter taste; do it – incredible flavour
*Reducing the stock down helps to fit it in the fridge, but it does seem to boil off some of the flavour; you’re probably better off storing it at like a full 2 or 3 litres

Give it a shot!

Luca