Indulgently fragrant braised pig belly in soy sauce, known as “Tau Yew Bak”. It has a rich, complex flavor that’s hard to resist.
We’ve been cooking like crazy since my second sister arrived in town.
Additionally, we’ve been reminiscing about our late parents, telling each other tales of our time spent with them and our childhood. We inevitably discussed our fond memories of the delicious food my late mother provided for us and the various dishes she prepared that we miss terribly.
She was smart enough to learn more about cooking from my mother because she is older than I am. Because we were a large and impoverished family, she had to do all of the housework and cooking from the time she was 12 years old.
As a result, she has accumulated and passed down most of our family’s culinary secrets.
We talked about creating my mother’s braised pork belly in soy sauce—one of the numerous family recipes that my mother excelled at.
The pig belly in her tau yew bak was usually juicy, tender, and soaked in a delicious soy sauce.
I couldn’t get enough of the flavor; it was rich, refined, and irresistible.
Tofu, potatoes, and mushrooms were occasionally served as side dishes, as were hard-boiled eggs.
I was able to memorize my mother’s tau yew bak recipe during a visit from my parents to San Francisco in 2000. When she was here, I volunteered to make the dish, following the instructions she had given me while she was there.
Pork belly is braised slowly in broth with whole white peppercorns (her secret ingredient!). Even though the end result was delicious, it will never compare to what my mother used to make. I couldn’t duplicate the taste of “mother” because my sister complained it didn’t have that flavor.
Soy-braised pork belly, also known as tau yew bak in Chinese, is a traditional dish in my family. As an accompaniment to white rice, it is a savory dish that goes particularly well with sambal belacan sauce.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this dish so much that you can relive one of my favorite childhood memories with me.
Each serving of this recipe has only 611 calories.
INGREDIENTS:
- 226 g of fried tofu
- 400 g of pork
- 5 hard-boiled eggs
- 4 cups of water
- 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons of sweet soy sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of smashed and cracked white peppercorn
- 1 lightly ponded garlic head
- salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preferably use a large clay pot to heat 4 cups of water. Boil it and add the pork belly and cracked peppercorns once it’s reached a rolling boil with the garlic cloves.
- Then add the boiled eggs, deep-fried tofu, sweet soy sauce, black soy sauce, and sesame oil to the pork belly and bring to a boil.
- For around 30 minutes or until the pork belly is cooked through and tender, reduce the heat to medium. Make your own seasonings with salt.
- For another 15 to 20 minutes, simmer on the lowest setting.
- Serve with steamed white rice hot from the oven.