Braised Pork Belly with Taro

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Tender pork slices with a harmonious profile of sweet, salty, and tangy notes paired with soft and custard-like taro. This braised pork belly with taro (Hakka Kau Yuk) is an exceptional home-cooked dish of Hakka people in mainland China. The Hakka are famous with their technique in stewing and braising; which incorporates with different herbs and spices hence delivering a unique and intense flavor.

The pork belly is typically fried and submerge in water for almost half a day —to soften and add texture to the dish. It is then braised in an umami-filled liquid with aromatics such as ginger and star anise—which creates a lovely flavor profile. The very important thing to note is to use a larger variety of taro roots rather than the smaller ones since they have a distinctive texture and you can easily slice it into half an inch thick rectangular pieces. Serve this delicious braised pork belly with a piping hot jasmine rice and a steamed bokchoy.

Recipe

PRE TIME: 12 hr 54 min

COOKING TIME: 2 hr 6 min

TOTAL TIME: 15 hr

8 SERVING

Ingredients:

1 lb. Taro Root
2.5 lb. Boneless Pork Belly
1 oz. Green Onion
1 oz. Ginger Slices
1 tbsp. Shaoxing Wine
4 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Chinese Rock Sugar (White Sugar Crystals)
5 pieces Star Anise Pods
1 tbsp. Corn Starch
15 oz. Vegetable Oil

Directions:

Step 1

Slice taro root into half-inch thick rectangular pieces.

Step 2

In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil to 300-350°F (150-180°C) and cook the taro until golden. Transfer to a plate, lined with a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Step 3

Boil water in a large pot. Add chopped green onions, half of the ginger, 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine, and pork belly. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 3 minutes. And set aside.

Step 4

Using a paper towel pat dries the simmered pork belly. Using the same pan for frying, deep fry the pork belly at 350-400°F (180-200°C) for 3 minutes or until crisp.

Step 5

Transfer the fried pork meat into a large bowl and cover with water for 12 hours.

Step 6

Slice the pork belly into quarter-inch thick pieces. Arrange the pork belly and fried taro root into a bowl.

Step 7

In a small bowl, mix the remaining Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sugar, star anise, chopped ginger, and green onions. And add the mixture to the pork and fried taro root.

Step 8