I love to cook and I love to pamper my loved ones even more. As of 2002 when I first got my lean, mean Jack Russell pup and a new man in my life, both male owner and dog have seen tremendous changes to their waist line. Not that I feed Pud (my JRT for the record) fatty foods laden with salt deserving of a human’s meal. I just cook yummy doggy dishes sans excess salt and fat in them. Also the occasional yet harmless table scraps too.
My hubby’s matter is a different story altogether. Being a food lover who stuffs his face in fats, he is also the cause of my 8kg weight gain over the span of 7 years. I still skip the animal fats and skin to this day, but I do not go easy on the types of foods and frequency of meals taken. Alright, so I’m guilty of a bad diet.
Back to the dish, Kong Bak (扣肉) or Braised Pork Belly as it is called in English goes by many other different names such as Lor Bak (滷肉), Dong Po Rou (東坡肉) or Tau Yu Bak (豆油肉). It is a long time perennial favourite of my man. This dish, braised in black soy sauce and spices is best eaten with steamed mantou buns. The subtle blend of sweet and saltiness of this sinful dish makes its a true mouth savouring, authentic Chinese cuisine commonly (and previously) served at funerals. This recipe calls for Twee Bak, otherwise known simply as pork belly, the cause of all that weight gain. For health and aesthetic concerns, I replaced 1kg of Twee Bak with half and half of lean pork loin. I take the lean, hubby devours the marble thick fatty pieces. As my uncle Clement once said: ” Real Man Eats Fats”.
So here is the recipe for Kong Bak which I will be stewing for tonight’s dinner.
Kong Bak (Pau) / Braised Pork Belly in Dark Soy Sauce
Yields: 5
Preparation time: 50mins (cooking time inclusive, lesser time needed if you use a pressure cooker)
Ingredients:
1kg pork – cut into bite sized chunks
1/3 cup dark soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
5-6 cups water
4 cloves garlic – lightly mashed
1 thumb size ginger – lightly mashed
1 thumb size galangal – lightly mashed
One 2-inch cinnamon stick
1 star anise (ba jiao: 八角)
1 tsp salt
Method:
1) Wash the pork, blanch it in boiling water for 4 minutes to remove any dirt and scum.
2) Drain pork and leave whole.
3) Run pork in dark soy sauce and sugar.
4) In a medium pot, pour in water, garlic, ginger, galangal, cinnamon stick, star anise, salt and add the seasoned pork and the dark soy sauce.
5) Bring to boil on high flame for 15 minutes.
6) Reduce flame to low and simmer until the pork is tender.
7) Serve with steamed mantou buns or over steamed white rice.
** I threw in 5 hard boiled eggs and a handful of chinese mushrooms because my man prefers to have them with rice instead of mantou buns.
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