Babi Pongteh (Nonya-Style Braised Pork in Fermented Soy Bean Sauce)
Prepare this classic Peranakan dish of babi pongteh (babi pong tay) - pork belly or slightly fatty or marbled pork braised until tender and succulent, in a delicious stewy, saucy, garlicky, spice-infused soy bean gravy.
Ingredients
- 1 kg pork belly trotters or shoulder
- 6 dried Chinese mushrooms
- 110 g shallots peeled
- 4 garlic cloves peeled
- 6 garlic cloves unpeeled, rinsed
- 1 cinnamon stick 8-cm/3-inch length
- 1 star anise, whole pod (optional)
- 2 tbsp fermented soy beans or salted soy bean paste
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 20 - 25 g palm sugar to taste
- ½ - ¾ tsp salt to taste
- 6 tbsp cooking oil
Instructions
- Rinse the pork belly and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 2 cm/1 inch thick slices. Set aside.
- Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes or until softened. Cut off the stems, squeeze to remove excess water, and set aside. Discard the soaking water.
- Meanwhile, coarsely pound the shallots and garlic cloves, separately, with a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
- In the same mortar, pound the fermented soy beans into a rough paste (skip if using salted bean paste). Scoop the paste into a small bowl. Add the dark soy sauce, salt, white sugar, and palm sugar. Stir to combine well.
- Heat up the oil in a wok over medium heat. When hot, fry the pounded shallots, pounded garlic, and cinnamon bark until fragrant. Next, add the fermented soy bean paste mixture and stir fry mixture for 30 seconds.
- Add the pork slices, and fry briefly to coat the meat thoroughly with the paste mixture. Add 150 milliters (⅔ cup) of water and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally until almost dry.
- Transfer from the wok to a heavy-bottomed pot. Pour in enough water to cover the meat and bring to a rapid boil for 5 minutes. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves, softened mushrooms, and a whole pod of star anise (if using). Reduce the heat until the mixture maintains a gentle simmer.
- Let the meat braise for 1 to 1½ hours, or until tender to your liking. Add more hot water as and when needed if the braising liquid reduces too quickly. Note: If you prefer a thicker sauce/gravy, allow the braising liquid to reduce to your desired consistency. For a thinner consistency or more sauce/gravy, add more water. Do a taste test when almost done, adding a bit more salt or sugar to taste - bear in mind that fermented beans tend to be quite heavily salted already. The overall flavour should be well balanced.
- Serve piping hot. Spoon generously with sauce over cooked white rice.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 590kcal, Carbohydrates: 55g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g, Cholesterol: 84mg, Sodium: 243mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 52g
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a rating and a review in the section below, and tag @foodelicacy on Instagram and hashtag it #foodelicacy so I can see!
