After cooking regularly for a better part of a year now, I thought it’s about time we try dishes that is a little bit more challenging, and since Haze has a thing for braised pork belly with yam (芋头扣肉), we decided to give it a go.
The following recipe is perhaps the simplest formulation for a good braised pork belly with yam, but that being said, it still requires at least 3-4 hours of cooking time to complete. The result though, if done properly, is a serving of yummy succulent pork with buttery soft yam good enough for 4 person.
braised pork belly slices with yam
The ingredients:
- pork belly – 600 gram
- one small/medium size yam
- 2 tablespoon dark soya sauce
- 6-8 shallots
- half a bulb of garlic
- 2 cubes of namyu (fermented bean curd)
- cooking oil
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soya sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon five spice
- pepper to taste
a big slab of pork and yam, enough to feed 4 pax
Cooking method can be divided into 4 major steps, pork preparation, yam preparation, frying, and steaming. Divide and conquer make things easier now isn’t it? 😀
step 1 – yam preparation:
- cut yam into thick slices (same thickness as pork)
- heat up frying pan with 2 tablespoon of oil, then fry yam for 3-4 minutes
dark soya sauce is used in the second stage of pork preparation
step 2 – pork preparation step:
- boil the whole slab of pork for 10-15 minutes
- remove pork from water, pat dry, then cover the whole slab with dark soya sauce
- heat up frying pan, then fry pork till brown
- remove pork from frying pan and cut in thick slices
shallots, garlic, and namyu to bring out the flavor
step 3 – frying:
- heat up a couple tablespoon of oil
- fry chopped garlic and onion till fragrant
- add pork, yam, and namyu
- add oyster sauce, soya sauce, five spice powder, and sesame oil
- stir fry till even (try not to break the yam, or meat)
finally, arrange pork/yam and steam for 3-4 hours
step 4 – steaming:
- arrange the pork and yam alternately in a bowl (or in this case, a metal plate)
- steam for a minimum of 2-3 hours
And you are done! Do always keep an eye to ensure that your steamer don’t run out of water in the process. If a pressure cooker is used, the steaming process can be cut short considerably (20-30 minutes, I will try this method next time).
Do check out more recipes on this site, and happy cooking!
This definitely need hard work as my mom not willing to cook it for me although I begged her so many times 😥
Choi Yen: so now you cook it instead!
was it my imagination or could i actually smell the savory aroma of this recipe rising from the photos on my computer screen? 😀
Sean: hahaha thank you for the vote of confidence.
One of my mom and grandma’s favourite recipe. Not really a big fan..but the ones that they do make is pretty good. I think it’s a Hakka dish right?
JD: I believe it’s hakka dish, i’m not very familiar with the dish until after having moved to KL too.
Yes to yam.
No to preserved vegetables (version)!
Suertes: I actually liked that version more. hahaha
Exactly how my maternal grandma cooks it! 😀
I kinda prefer my paternal grandma’s cooking (without the yam) – but this looks good though.
I’m with Suertes though, have always preferred regular ones to preserved veggies. 🙂
Huai Bin: to me it’s never the yam or preserved veggies, but the succulent fatty pork… ahh. 😀
i remember cooking pork belly with yam and pork belly with mui choy. two of the best dishes, according to my sis, i’ve made, but also two of the most technical/difficult dishes ever.
i’ve made it three times for each and decided not to make it again unless, it’s a special occasion. too darn difficult but really worth it. i’m sure the experience is wonderful for you too!
Michelle: hahah yah takes almost half a day to get it right.
now to buy a bloody steamer so i can try this at home..
lotsofcravings: that would be loads more convenient, I used a wok and had to monitor water level for darn long
good job, KY…i will try it by this comin Sunday, hope my hubby like it much much…. 😉
ccsoh: best of luck to your endeavor!
Must put chinese cooking wine then nicer.
JC: after steaming for that long, any taste of chinese wine will be gone tho. lol
Yum Yum
Nikel: slurps
Here we go again.. WHEN u inviting me for dinner! hahaha
ciki: WHEN ARE YOU FREE!? cisss
I reckon this recipe looks or seems like Philippine’s famous “Adobo”. While instead of using yam, they have potato.
Jessie: interesting!
i like this dish & quite enjoy the can version. now that u have this recipe, might have to try it
Ven: do it! 😀
wah this is really challenging. don’t think i’ll ever try it. Good on you!
eiling: come on now datin! get your hands dirty at kitchen maaa
investing a pressure cooker for such stewing would be the best thing ever! yummy, my son likes this dish a lot
babe_kl: i actually have a pressure cooker and just forgot about using it this round. lol.
last weekend i just tried to cook, the taste quite good, but gotta steam for 3 hours, abit long time ya
ccsoh: yaa, much faster if you use a pressure cooker, i wanna try that too
Why the same related post show up twice 0_o
ShoalinTiger: cos the plugin is crap, time to update.
Hi ky! what brand of nam yu is good? TIA
anon: You got me on this one, I actually have no idea what brand is superior, I usually just buy the most “common” brand on the shelve
i bet you do the wrong way. your recipe is correct but the preparation is quite different from the Haka style.
Edward: ah, thank you for the pointer.
I watched my wife make this it took her all day and part of the night before. She prepared the YAMs to soften by soaking them in warm water prior to cooking…I think your snaps missed that step… but so sedap! 😛
David: haha yah, that’s why my version wasn’t very good.
I am very pleased with your recipe for Ginger Wine Chicken – so simple/straighforward and it turned out delicious! Will be trying another of your recipes soon. Thanks for sharing.
Suzee: glad to know that!
Hi.!It loooks really yummy,I was wondering how would you use the pressure cooker for the streaming process
June: you prop the ingredients up and have water underneath.