Mum’s braised pork

When I was back in KL during Chinese New Year, mum made this fantastic braised pork dish that blew my socks off. She does braised pork a few different ways and they’re all good (I love my pork), but this one had an unusual flavour which I really liked. Tried the recipe last week and it turned out well. Good thing I made quite a bit, so I’m having leftovers tonight. Mmmm! Comfort food.

Here’s the recipe (serves 3-4):
- About 600 g pork belly or ribs (I used both)
- 1/2 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2-inch piece of ginger (about the length of your thumb), sliced
- dried mushrooms (6-8 pieces, depending on size)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soya bean paste
- 1 tbsp plum sauce
- 2 tbsp light soya sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- pepper to taste

How:
Soak the mushrooms in some water until soft, then cut as desired or leave them whole. Bat’s ear fungus also goes nicely with this dish. Do not marinate the meat; just give it a quick rinse and leave it aside.

Using a food processor, blend the onion and garlic to a fine paste. Sautee the paste and slices of ginger in a little oil (about 2 tbsp) until golden. Add the pork and sautee until pork pieces are lightly cooked on all sides. Grind in some fresh black pepper. Add the oyster sauce, soya bean paste, plum sauce, and light soya sauce, stir until pork is evenly coated. Chuck in the mushrooms and enough water to cover the meat, cover pot/saucepan with a lid and leave to simmer for about an hour. Check and stir occasionally to ensure it doesn’t dry out; add water if required and continue to simmer. You should end up with a thickish sauce once it’s done. If you want more gravy, use a little more water and don’t boil it down too much.

When the meat is done, add the dark soya sauce and sugar. I don’t usually use sugar in my dishes, and when I tasted the sauce before I added the sugar it was already pretty damn good. But I thought, hey, mum said sugar it, so I did. And it made a huge difference! As always, mum knows best. And yes, it’s not a typo – measurement for sugar is 1 teaspoon; everything else is in tablespoons.

NOTE: DO NOT add the dark soya sauce and sugar until the end, or it will make the meat tough.

Serve with steaming hot rice. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need anything else to go with it. Oooh, maybe some sambal belacan… (it’s a Eurasian thing).

Enjoy.