Couple of quick (and not so quick) ideas: (1) Brine it overnight, then braise it in a liquid of 1 part soy sauce, 3 parts chicken (or chicken and veal) stock and 2 parts vinegar with some mirepoix, garlic, a bay leaf or two, and whole black peppercorns thrown in. You can serve it with the sauce strained then reduced or you can cube the belly pan fry it in oil until browned then serve it with the reduced sauce. It would go great with a bowl of steamed rice and a pickled salad of sliced cucumbers, julienned papayas and cubed hearts of palm. Leftovers can be had for breakfast with a bowl of rice and a sunny side up egg. As with most braised dishes, this gets better when left in the fridge and reheated a day or two later. (1.1) As above but add a can of coconut milk reduced to sauce consistency (reduced by a bit more than half). (2) Boil the pork belly in water, salt pepper, garlic and bay leaves. Air dry the pork belly when cooked (an electric fan speeds up the process). When dry, you then cut the belly into 3/4 inch thick slices and deep fry them unitl golden brown. Best served with a basic dipping sauce of soy and vinegar. You could, depending on your taste and mood, add any or all of the ff: chopped thai chilies, chopped fresh garlic, lime juice, minced onions... (3) Slice thinly (like bacon) then season with salt and pepper. Arrange alternating layers of sliced pork belly and cabbage (several slices of japanese leeks, the white parts only wouldn't hurt, nor would several thin slices of carrots) on a plate then steam until cooked. Serve with a ponzu dipping sauce. (4) Braise in beer and veal stock with mirepoix, garlic, peppercorns and bayleaf. When cooked, reduce the strained braising liquid to sauce consistency. Great with braised mung beans or lentils. (5) Tom Colicchio's recipe for braised "fresh" bacon from his cookbook Think Like a Chef. The recipe was also in an issue of GQ I believe. Hope that helps....
