Tuesday 27 August 2013

Stewed Pork Belly with Fried Tofu

Whenever my late dad wanted to have plain porridge, he would ask mum to cook pork belly with tofu and with added dark caramel sauce.  Besides him, practically we have grown up eating this dish since my grandparents' era!  I still remember back in my kampung/hometown in Ayer Tawar, our neighbours used to cook this dish and most of them would have it with porridge too.  Are you curious how we eat it with porridge?  I do not know about the others, but back in my kampung, my family and neighbours would mix the thick gravy tofu into their piping hot porridge.  Then, we would use a spoon or chopsticks to break/cut the tofu into small pieces, mix it with porridge, then, 1 spoon of porridge into the mouth, slurrpppp.... followed by a piece of the pork belly... close your eyes, ehmmmm..... so yummy.  Back then, in the 1970s, this is considered quite a luxurious meal for kampung folks in Ayer Tawar where majority of them were rubber tappers.  However, nowadays it's just a common dish and everyone knows how to cook it.  In fact my children like too.
This time I didn't eat it with porridge but with steamed rice.  Then, I noticed that my children mixed the pieces of tofu and gravy into their rice.  It's indeed very delish.....

Ingredients :
- 1 strip of pork belly (blanched and cut)
- 5 pcs hard tofu (cut into four, slightly fried until golden brown)
- 1/2 tbsp fermented soy bean paste/tau cheong (for frying)
- 1 1/2 tbsp fermented soy bean paste/tau cheong (to taste)
- 1 bulb of garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- water (enough for stewing)
Seasonings : (to taste)
- a dash of salt
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp caramel sauce (reduce the amount if you don't like your dish to be in dark colour)
- 1 tsp sugar
Method :
1)  Heat some oil in a wok and pan fry the tofu until slightly brown. (You can deep fry until golden brown if you like but I prefer it to be pan fried).
2)  Push the tofu to the side of the wok.  Saute garlic, star anise, cinnamon stick and 1/2 tbsp of fermented soy bean paste until aromatic.
 3)  Add pork belly and tofu. Stir fry for a while and mix well.
4)  Add water, the remaining fermented bean paste and caramel sauce. Mix well. Cover and let it boil over high heat for about 5 minutes. Then, lower the heat and let it simmer until the gravy is thickened and/or the meat is cooked and tender. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the fire and pot/wok used. Add water if you want more gravy.
5)  Lastly, add in the remaining seasonings and bring it to a boil again for 1 or 2 minutes.  
6)  Dish up and serve with plain porridge or steamed rice.
The tofu is very flavourful as it's being stewed together with the meat.
No doubt this is a very simple and common dish, my family members have fond memory of this dish as it reminds us of our beloved dad ~



I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest Perak month hosted by WendyinKK of Table for Two….or more

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34 comments:

  1. Ahhhhh! Perfect but I don't care much about the tofu. I just love the pork belly, sinful but once a while its definitely a treat for my palate.

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    1. Yes, Nava, when comes to food, aiyoh, I also eat first, kira belakang, hahaha :)

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  2. U are hokkien? this is my mom signature dish too..

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    1. Yes, Ley, I am a Hokkien. No doubt my kampung is popular for its Fuzhous, but most of my neighbours are Hokkiens and this is our popular dish in Ayer Tawar too. We love it with porridge :)

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  3. Hi Ivy, I didn't know this is Perak food. Must check out MFF Perak. So tempted to have a piece right away.

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    1. Hi Kimmy, you see my mum is a Heng Hwa Hokkien and during my teen years, we lived at a small kampung called 'Heng Hwa Kong' (Heng Hwa Village)in Ayer Tawar. Most of the residents in this village were Heng Hwas. These Heng Hwas liked to cook this dish and they would passed a bowl of this dish to their neighbours who happened not to cook it on that day. So, those days, practically, everyone loved to share dish.

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  4. Hi Ivy! I love love love stew pork! I would always drizzle a lot of the gravy onto my porridge and rice. Yum!!

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    1. Thanks Jasline. I love it with lots of gravy too :)

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  5. This is definitely perfect with porridge!

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  6. By looking at it, make me so hungry de.......

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  7. The colour of the dish alone already made me drool. I can imagine the fragrance ....

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  8. Hi Ivy , I have to try this recipe and tell my friends to try it . ... they think pork belly is for only for cooking vegetables (boiling) we call it hog jowls in my neck of the woods ... so yummy thanks for sharing :).

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    1. Nee, pork belly can be stewed, braised, stir fried, deep fried, pan fried and steamed. You can try this dish for a start and it's indeed very delish. Do add more water for extra gravy :)

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  9. Hi Ivy, very inviting stew pork. I love the tofu, very delicious. Best to eat with porridge. :)
    Love your blog template, very sweet flowers.

    Have a nice day.

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    1. Thanks Amelia, for visiting my humble blog :)

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  10. Love dishes stewed in thick caramel sauce, goes well with both rice or porridge. Lau nuar liao, ho chiak!

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  11. Hi Ivy,

    I'm a tofu person and would love to feast on your flavorsome braised tofu! Yum!

    Zoe

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    1. Zoe, we love tofu too esp my 2nd daughter. She must have tofu at least once a week!

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  12. Hokkien people favourite dish, so this is my family favorite:)) one of the greatest dish! Yours look so yummy and comforting, taste of home!.

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  13. One of my favourite dishes. Yes, eat first belakang kira! You have cooked a lovely dish!

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  14. this sounds so tasty even with rice. Not aware of this dish, delighted to know this traditional dish from ayer tawar. Do you go back to your hometown often?

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    1. Yes Lena, I still go back esp when there's holidays. My mum is still at Ayer Tawar.

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  15. Ivy, this dish is so mouthwatering! Just looking at it, my God, I feel so hungry. I have bookmarked your recipe :)

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  16. Hi Ivy,
    Drooling look at your stew pork.
    I must cook this dish of yours with my homemade tofu.
    mui

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Mui Mui. Have a great weekend ahead :)

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  17. Where can we buy caramel sauce?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Vas, basically caramel sauce is thick soy sauce. You can get it from any Chinese store or supermarket.

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