Braised Pork Belly
This Braised Pork Belly is our family favorite! We make this every other week and the family loves it. Slow- cooked, succulent and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Enjoy.
Servings: 8 pax
Ingredients
- 800 g lean pork belly
- 3 cloves garlic (smushed)
- 1 chilli (sliced)
- 2 sprigs of spring onion
- 100 g beancurd skin (tau kee - soaked and cut into 2inch pieces)
- 20 g wood ear fungus (soaked and rinsed with tough bits trimmed off)
- 10 pieces tau pok (blanched to remove excess oil and cut into halves)
- 1 packet black bean fish sauce (120g)
- 2 cans beer (330ml x 2)
- 500 g abalone sauce
Instructions
- Wash the pork belly clean, drip dry and cut into ~ 1 1/2 inch chunks. Soak and prep your add-ons - the beancurd skin, wood ear fungus and the tofu puffs. Smash the garlic and slice the red chilli. For the scallions, cut the bulb ends lengthwise and set them aside to be used for stir frying with the garlic and chilli. Dice the rest of the scallions for garnishing.
- In a heavy bottomed pot, saute the garlic, chilli and scallion bulbs until fragrant, then add in the pork belly. Saute the pork belly until it is nicely seared. Add in the black bean sauce, beer and abalone sauce.
- Next, add in the wood ear fungus as they need a longer braising time. Braise for 45 min on medium heat. (Note: I like to stir the pot at the beginning and midway to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pan.)
- After 45 min, the meat should be quite tender at this point. Add in the tau kee and the tau pok. At this stage, if the braising liquid is boiling low, add just a little water (but not too much). Cook for a further 20 min until the tau kee is softened or till the meat texture is tender as preferred.
- Take off heat and garnish generously with cut spring onions before serving.
Notes
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#1 Secret sauce
So... WHAT IS IT?? **Drumroll** …..............
It's Abalone sauce, Black Bean sauce and Beer! This is my go to braising sauce and you can use any type of beer. Cooking the meat in beer helps to tenderize the pork belly chunks and infuse rich complex flavors. The natural acids in beer help break down muscle fibers, while the malt sugars caramelize during cooking to create a deliciously light and savory sauce.
I like to use a ready-to-use Black Bean Fish Sauce for braising my pork belly but if it’s not readily available where you are, you can substitute it directly with 2-3 tbsp of the usual black bean sauce. Add to this, abalone sauce and beer and you will get an intensely aromatic, vibrant and umami-packed braising sauce that tastes just amazing!
#2 Add-ons
I like to add wood ear fungus, beancurd skin (tau kee) and tofu puffs (tau pok) to give a variety of elements in my pot of Braised Pork Belly. These are the usual additions my family loves and they soak up sauce most deliciously and make for a varied and lighter pork belly dish. You can easily substitute any of it for other add-ons like quail eggs, hard boiled eggs, firm tofu or even add in pork intestines for a more eclectic mix for those of you who love innards. Check out My Healthy Braised Intestines if you belong to the latter who loves 卤大肠！
#3 Adding water, Yes or No?
Actually it’s not necessary to add water or any further seasoning to this Braised Pork Belly. The braising sauce with abalone sauce, black bean and beer is super tasty on its own and sufficient for braising 800g pork belly. Having said that, this is not a hard and fast rule. At times when I get carried away adding a little too many add-ons and/or the braising liquid becomes boiling low, I do add a little water (but not too much) to keep the pot gently braising for tender results. So to answer the question ... ‘No’ if you don’t have to ... but ‘Yes’ if you need to, add a little water and not too much!
#4 Meat texture
I like to use a lean pork belly cut for a healthier dish. And always remember to cut nice sized chunks as the meat will shrink when it's cooked. The pork belly is usually quite tender after braising for 45min. I like to only add the beancurd skin and tofu puffs at this point and braise for a further 20min to cook them well.
Do note to only add the beancurd skin towards the end as it cannot be braised for long else it becomes too soft and breaks up. The meat is usually perfectly done once the beancurd skin (tau kee) is softened . This is of course just an approximate guide. If you like your meat more tender or otherwise more succulent with a bite, adjust the braising time as appropriate to get your perfect ‘done-ness’ and texture.
#5 Storage
I always cook a large pot of this Braised Pork Belly as the daughters love it. This Braised Pork Belly is usually polished off in two meals so there are only ever leftovers for one night. To minimize washing, I usually keep the remainder as is, in the pot (no need to refrigerate) and just bring it to a nice gentle simmer again the next day for lunch.
Of course it can also be transferred to an airtight container and kept chilled in the fridge for 2-3 days. For consumption, just warm up a portion in the microwave or on the stove and it’s ready to serve on rice.