Cooking without fumes

While I was flipping through my chiffon cake book, I found a newspaper cutting between the pages. It is a recipe which I had taken from a local Chinese newspaper several months back. I have totally forgotten that I had wanted to try this easy home cook dish when I first saw it.

After seeking my children's opinion, I gladly went ahead to prepare this dish...Braised Pork Belly with Hard Boiled Eggs, 卤蛋红烧肉.

This is not the first time I have tried to cook this dish, but my first attempt produced something that was just edible (^^') I didn't follow any recipe or rather there wasn't any good and easy recipe for me to follow. I added whatever ingredients, spices and seasoning according to my own whim and fancy. Naturally the food was just passable not because it tasted ok but rather I have kids who are very accommodating to my cooking ;)

This recipe is really simple even a lousy cook like me is able to put it together without much effort. The best thing is, there is no stir frying involved, making it a 'no-fume', hassle free home cooking meal. The original recipe only calls for pork belly and hard boiled eggs as the main ingredients. I have taken the liberty to add in tau kwa (firm bean curb) and tau pok (fried bean curb puff) to make it a hearty one pot meal to go with plain rice.

The one cooking tip that I have picked up from this newspaper article is that, the pork belly has to be cooked in a pot of boiling water for five minutes to get rid of the impurities (I usually place pork ribs in cold water and bring it to a boil to remove the impurities, rinse and then place in boiling water to prepare the soup). To prevent the meat from losing its juice, the water has to be boiling before the pork belly is added in. While the pork is cooking, the sauce is prepared in another pot and brought to a boil. When ready, the pork belly is then transferred to the pot of sauce. The important thing to note here is, the sauce has to be boiling before the pork belly is added, that is, from one hot pot to another. By doing so, the meat will cook faster and will be tender soft.

I was so proud of myself when the dish was ready :) It was even more satisfying to watch my kids savour every bit of the food. My younger son is never a fan of pork dishes, I was pleasantly surprised that he could finish all the meat I placed on his plate of rice. My elder son loves pork belly and I am sure he will keep asking for this dish.

After I was done taking pictures of the dish, I noticed the sun setting. I get to enjoy sunset every evening. It is impossible for me to miss it since I am someone who likes to pause every now and then to enjoy the beautiful nature, be it the sun, moon or tiny flowers on the road side. I have so many times stood at the window to watch the golden yolk disappear into the horizon. Do you know? It doesn't take too long for the sun to set, it is gone within a few minutes. I was not even fast enough to get decent shots, and this is the best my very old point-and-shoot camera could produce.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this little snapshot of my life...thank you for visiting.

Braised Pork Belly 家常卤蛋红烧肉

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

300g pork belly
4 - 6 hard boiled eggs
2 tau kwa (firm tofu/bean curd), cut into big chunks
4 - 6 pieces tau pok (deep fried bean curd), cut into half

2 cups water
3 tablespoons dark soya sauce
2 tablespoons light soya sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon five spice powder (not included in original recipe)
some rock sugar (amount not stated in original recipe, I used about 30g, adjust according to taste)
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick (about 1.5" in length)
1 whole bulb of garlic, separated but not peeled

1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon hua tiao wine (Shao Hsing Hua Tiao Chiew)

Method:

To cook hard boiled eggs, place eggs in a pot. Fill it with water enough to cover the eggs. Bring to a boil, continue to cook for about 10mins. Remove from pot and run eggs under cold water (to make it easy to remove the shells). Remove shells and set aside.

Wash, clean and cut pork belly into big pieces. Bring a pot of water to the boil. Add in the pork belly and let it boil for 5 mins.

Place 2 cups of water in another pot. Add dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, oyster sauce, five spice power, rock sugar, star anise cinnamon stick and garlic. Bring to a boil.

When ready, remove and drain the pork belly in step 2. Add to the pot in step 3 (make sure the sauce is already boiling). Add hard boiled eggs. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and let it simmer for 1 hour.