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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!