Skip to main content

Tamarind Pork Belly (Babi Assam) ~ 亚参五花肉


A very appetising dish with tangy and robust flavour of tamarind juice, red and green chillies added more oomph to the dish.  This dish will surely whet your appetite and you'll go for second helping of rice to soak up the tangy gravy.  This is a Peranakan dish but as always, there are many varieties to this delicacy.  I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit what I have in my pantry and the end result is a very yummy dish that I will not hesitate to whip up again and again.



Tamarind Pork Belly (Babi Assam)  ~  亚参五花肉
Ingredients
  • 450 gm pork belly, cut into bite size
  • 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 shallots, finely chopped
  • 30 gm tamarind pulp (Assam paste)  + 250 ml water
  • 3 green chillies
  • 2 red chillies
  • 2 tsp tau cheong (preserved bean paste)
  • 2 tsp dark soya sauce
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 onion, sliced
Method
  1. Mix the tamarind pulp with a cup of  warm water, squeezed out the juice and strain.
  2. Slit the chillies halfway lengthwise, or just cut into two, remove the seeds.
  3. Saute the chopped garlic and shallots, add in the tau cheong.
  4. Add in the pork, stir-fry, then add in half the tamarind juice.
  5. Add in the dark soya sauce, brown sugar, salt, fish sauce and the balance tamarind juice making sure to cover the pork.   Add in the chillies.  Let it simmer for a while.  Cover the pan and leave to cook till meat is tender, about 45 minutes.  
  6. Add in some water if gravy is too dry and meat is not tender yet.
  7. Mix in the sliced onion and cook for a while till gravy thickens.
  8. Fine tune to taste, dish up and serve.

Comments

  1. How delicious! I love pork belly and could devour the whole bowl at one set!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for sharing this simple but tasty recipe. I have tried it 2 days ago, my husband and I enjoyed it a lot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry for late response. So glad that you tried the recipe and loved it. Thanks!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for dropping by. Please click on 'Anonymous' if you do not have a blog but do leave your name after the comment because I would like to know who you are.

Popular posts from this blog

Herbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Gao

H erbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Ga o literally translated means 'Tortoise Jelly' is one of my family's favourite desserts.  It's much more economical to prepare this at home for you'll need to fork out between Rm 9 to Rm 11 for a bowl of this cooling dessert in any of those herbal tea outlets.  This soothing jelly, served chilled, is supposed to be able to help reduce our body heat, helps to get rid of toxins and is believed to be good for the skin thus culminating a healthier complexion.

Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy ~ 梅菜焖五花肉

Mui Choy is preserved mustard greens and there are two types, one is salty while the other is sweet.  There are many ways of cooking mui choy with pork belly.  Instead of braising, you can steam it with minced pork but here I am using only the sweet mui choy and I braised the pork belly with it.  This is a flavourful dish and you can serve it with plain rice or plain porridge. Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy   ~    梅菜焖五花肉 Ingredients  400 gm pork belly cut into bite size 100 gm  preserved sweet mui choy 3 cloves of garlic 2 slices ginger Seasoning for the pork belly 1 Tbsp dark soya sauce 1/4 Tbsp sugar 1/4 Tbsp sesame oil 1/4 Tbsp oyster sauce 1/2 tsp pepper 1/8 tsp light soya sauce Method Season the pork belly for about an hour or more.  Set aside. Soak the mui choy for 45 mins., rinse and squeeze dry.  Cut into slices Heat some oil in the wok, fry the mui choy.  Add in the ginger slic...

Snow Swallow Dessert ~ 天然野生雪燕

  Natural Wild Tragacanth Gum 'Snow Swallow' or Xue Yan is a gum derived from different varieties of sterculia trees.  It's actually a sap drained from the root of the plant and  the gum dries as it exudes and is then collected.  Once rehydrated will increase to about ten times in size and their white stringy, jelly like strands texture resembles that of the much prized and highly valued bird's nest.  One thing to take note when cooking this dessert is that the gum is highly soluble in water and cannot be boiled too long. Since it is 'cooling' for our internal organs, the elderlies should take this in moderation and not recommended for nursing mums for the breast milk may cause the baby to purge. Snow Swallow Dessert  ~   天然野生雪燕 Ingredients 8 gm Snow Swallow gums 10 gm red dates 10 gm goji berries 20 gm dried longan Rock or piece sugar to taste 1 litre water Pandan leaves (optional) Method Soak the Snow Swallow gums in plenty of water for at least...