Hakka Pork Belly with Taro (Wu Tau Kau Yoke/芋頭扣肉)

After the steamed yam cake that I made two days ago , I have half a taro/yam left for making another dish with it.  What better use of the leftover half yam other than to cook this dish for dinner as it has been a while since I last cooked this Hakka Pork Belly with Taro.  Though it entails a bit of work, it is worth every ounce of energy spend preparing it.  I have not lost touch as it turned out delicious....perfect taste and it is as good as those prepared in restaurant. The only thing I lose out is the presentation of course :p   Anyway, this dish is flavors packed and is an appetizing dish. I cooked enough for two servings. One serving is for one dinner and the other serving kept in freezer for another meal.  That is the beauty of this dish. The longer you keep , the better it taste .

People asked me this question very often. Why bother to cook for just the two of you when you can eat out ..."easy and cheaper to eat out " .   The answer I always give is " self satisfaction and I know what I am eating "  LOL!  Nothing beats having homecooked meals everyday.  Thus that explains why I love cooking and the self satisfaction is something money can never give you :)

 

ingredients used for making the sauce

use aluminium foil to cover the top to prevent

water from dripping into the bowl

let it cool down 5 mins before you invert into serving plate

you may place a bigger serving tray and invert the pork belly 

quickly so that the sauce is intact.

the yam turned out fluffy and the pork belly juicy and tender

Hakka Pork Belly with Taro (Wu Tau Kau Yoke/芋頭扣肉)

Ingredients:

1 strip of pork belly 

1/2 yam - cut into 1/2 inch thick

enough cooking oil or  rice bran oil for frying the yam slices

pork marinade:  marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight

1/2 tsp five spice powder

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp soybean paste ( tau cheong )

sauce:

4 cubes of red fermented beancurd - mashed

 seasoning
1 tbsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of salt

1 tsp of soy sauce

some white pepper

3 tbsp of Shao Sing wine

4 shallots - chopped

5 cloves of garlic - chopped fine

2 cups of water

Method:

Boil a pot of water and blanch the strip of pork belly for a few minutes to remove odour and impurities. Take out and prick holes with fork to allow marinade to be absorb into the meat. Marinate for at least 1 hour.  Leave aside while preparing the yam slices.

Heat up wok , add in enough cooking oil , fry the yam slices till lightly brown.  Place the fried yam slices on paper towel to drain off excess oil... With the same oil, fry the whole strip of marinated pork belly with skin side down first.
Turn over and  fry the other side lightly brown. Take out and drain off excess oil. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Heat up 2 tbsp of oil, add in garlic and shallots saute till fragrant. Add in mashed fermented beancurd, seasoning and the marinade water from the pork and water and bring to a boil. Taste sauce and adjust accordingly if required. The sauce should taste stronger than normal as it would get diluted once it is braised together with the rest of the ingredients.

Assemble and steam the pork belly and Taro 

Arrange the pork belly (skin side down) and alternate with yam in a bowl. Pour in sauce which should fill up to ½ of the bowl. Finally cover with aluminium foil. Bring water to boil in the wok/steamer. Place the prepared dish of pork belly and taro in the wok/steamer. Steam for about 1 hour in the medium heat or until the pork belly becomes really tender. Next, using a pair of tongs, I gently transferred a piece of pork belly together with a piece of yam and invert them on a serving tray then poured the sauce over them. Let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Or you may place a bigger serving tray and invert the pork belly quickly so that the sauce is intact.

Garnish with spring onions/coriander leaves and serve with rice.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Braised Yam And Beancurd Skin (豆包）

Saw this recipe on Veronica's blog -  Minty's Kitchen and I fell in love with her simple to make Braised yam and my all time favorite fresh beancurd skin aka 'dou bao' .  Yam being my favorite tuber too, I decided to try her vegetarian dish and no regrets....the only regret is I did not make more gravy and the 'dou bao' absorbed  all the gravy . Nonetheless, it was flavors packed and darn delicious.  Love every mouthful, even a meat eater like the Wild Boar loves it :)  A keeper no doubt.

Thanks Veron for sharing such a delicious and healthy recipe :)  

The fresh ' dou boa ' can be bought from a van outside the Kg.Simee wet market in Ipoh.  Be there early as the man will drive away after 9.30am to sell at another location.  

I am lucky to be able to buy

fresh beancurd skin ' dou boa ' 

the beancurd skin has to be deep fried first before braising

after deep frying , make sure to drain off excess oil

sandwich them alternately with a piece of yam and 

a piece of fried 'dou boa' in a bowl

pour in the seasoning sauce mixture onto the 

yam and beancurd skin, cover with aluminium foil

and steam for an hour

Vegetarian Braised Yam And Beancurd Skin (豆包）- adapted from Minty's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1/2 a yam, sliced into 8-10mm thick

1 pack (300g) of bean curd skin (fresh soy chip / 豆包), squeezed dry

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 shallots, minced

small knob of ginger, minced

cooking oil

sesame oil

Sauce: (Please adjust seasoning to taste)

1 cup water

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp red yeast rice paste (or red fermented bean curd - "nam yue")

a little rock sugar 

pepper

• Fry the yam pieces and bean curd skin ('dou bao') until light brown.  Set aside.
• With a little oil and sesame oil, stir fry minced ginger, shallots and garlic.  Then add in sauce and boil until sugar dissolved.  Set aside to cool slightly.
• Coat fried yam pieces and 'dou bao' with sauce and arrange neatly in a bowl.  Pour remaining sauce over the yam and 'dou bao'. Cover with a plate.  Steam for about 1 hour or until yam is soft.
• Invert the steam yam and 'dou bao' onto a plate and serve.

Enjoy!