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.