Ingredients
2 tbs vegetable oil 0.5 kg of Pork Belly, divided into 6 pieces 6 salted egg or regular boiled duck eggs (or chicken eggs) 2 cups hard tofu (diced into 1") 4 Cilantro Roots 4 cloves garlic 1 tbs white pepper corns 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 2 tbs palm sugar 6 cups of water 1 1/2 tbs Chinese Soysauce 2 tbs black sweet soysauce 3 sticks of cinnamon 1 tbs whole cloves 1 tbs fennel seeds 5 star anise 1 tbs white pepper corn optional additional spices nutmeg ginger licorice 2 tbs fresh cilantro for presentation Equipment 1 large stewing pot Mortar and Pestle, Knife/cutting board measuring cups/spoons |
Direction
Add cilantro roots, garlic and 1 tbs white pepper corns into the mortar. Crush until a fairly smooth paste form. Marinate the pork in 2 tbs of sweetened black soy sauce. This stuff is sticky! Meanwhile, hard boil your eggs for about 10 minutes and peel. I suggest using duck eggs as the texture is denser and the eggs can withstand stewing process better than chicken eggs. See the end of the recipe for salted egg version. On medium-low heat, add 2 tbs oil to the pot. Add the cilantro root mixture to the pot and cook, stirring constantly until the paste gives off delicious aroma, about 3-5 minutes. Add Cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, anise and white pepper corn, and cook for additional 3-5 minutes. The heat will bring out the aroma of the spices. Add 2 tbs palm sugar and keep stirring until the sugar begins to caramelized. Add 2 cups of water, stirring until the caramelized sugar has melted. Scrapping the bottom of the pot so that there is no caramelized sugar at the bottom that can burn during our long stewing time. Add the pork, tofu, eggs and the rest of the water. Depends on the size of the pot, make sure the cooking liquid comes up about 1/2" above the pork. Season with soy sauce. Dont over season now as the liquid will reduce and the flavor will intensify. On low heat, keep the stew on simmer for about 2 1/2 hours, checking every once in a while to scoop out the fatty froth, and make sure that the liquid is not too reduced that it burn the stew. If you are using salted eggs, do not add any soy sauce until about 2 hours into the stewing, as the liquid will draw the saltiness out of the eggs. Garnish with Cilantro, serve with hot rice, a dash of mustard on the side. Serve 6 |