Pork Belly Stew

I tried  cooking this pork belly stew in the thermal pot for dinner thinking that it'll save some time.  However, I found that the heat from the thermal pot was not enough to really tenderise the meat and so ended up cooking this on low heat in a normal pot for another hour.  It did make it in time for dinner and paired very well with a bowl of hot white rice and a vegetable dish in tow.

Recipe for Pork Belly Stew

Ingredients

• 600 gm pork belly cut into pieces and seasoned with some salt
• 6 pieces Shitake mushrooms, soaked and stemmed
• 1 carrot, cut into chunks
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 slices of ginger
• 1 stalk spring onions, sectioned
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp soy bean paste
• 1 Tbsp nam yue (red fermented bean curd)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp oil

Method  .

1. Heat oil in a wok, add spring onions, star anise and cinnamon stick, stir-fry.  Add garlic, ginger, soy bean paste and nam yue.  Stir fry till fragrant.
2. Add seasoned pork belly, stir-fry  till evenly cooked.  Add mushrooms, carrot and water.
3. Bring it to a boil, then cover and simmer till meat is tender and cooked through.  Fine tune to desired taste, dish out and serve.