Hakka Braised Pork Belly | 客家炸肉 | Norah's Cooking Diary

Hi everyone. In this video I am going to share with you a Hakka Braised Pork Belly (客家炸肉) recipe.

A soft and tender pork belly with a flavorful gravy tastes delightfully delicious. The black fungus gives an interesting bite on every mouthful.
Hakka Braised Pork Belly is also known as "Hakka Zhar Yoke 客家炸肉".

This is a traditional Hakka dish that is usually served during the Chinese New Year and other Chinese festive occasions. Why wait when you can enjoy this dish any time at the comfort of your home.

Happy cooking😉

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Several notes here to share with you:
💡 You could substitute Pork Belly with Chicken pieces if you prefer. If chicken is used, the time of braising will be 30 mins.
💡 You could substitute potato starch with tapioca starch or corn starch if you prefer.
💡 Please check the Fermented Red Bean Sauce recipe from my other video at this link (   • Hakka Steamed Pork Belly with Taro (客...  ).

Here is a quick rundown of the recipe:

INGREDIENTS ##

Serve 4-5 Peoples
HAKKA BRAISED PORK BELLY
========================
✅️ ±1 kg Pork Belly
✅️ 45 g Dried Black Fungus
✅️ 200 g Fermented Red Bean Sauce (   • Hakka Steamed Pork Belly with Taro (客...  )
✅️ 3 pcs Star Anise
✅️ 1 Cinnamon Quill
✅️ 100 g Potato Starch
✅️ 500 ml Cooking Oil
✅️ 2 litres Plain Water

METHOD OF PREPARATION##
Please note that due to YouTube text limits, the following steps are heavily condensed. Please refer to the website for the complete steps.

STEP 1 ##
Soak the dried black fungus in the water until they are softened.

STEP 2 ##
Freeze the pork belly for 1 to 2 hrs in the freezer to harden slightly. A slightly frozen pork belly will give an even cut when they are sliced. Cut the pork belly into 3 equal portions lengthwise. Further cut each of the pork belly portion into slices, each about 1.5cm thick.
Add about 2 tbsp of potato starch into a bowl.
Add about 2 tbsp of red bean curd sauce into the bowl.
Add about 50 ml of plain water into the bowl.
Stir the mixture together to mix well. Flip and toss the sliced pork belly in the bowl to generously coat with the mixture. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to marinate for 4 hours.

STEP 3 ##
The root joints of the black fungus might contain sand or dirt. Cut the root joint with a pair of kitchen scissor. Keep the cleaned black fungus aside until needed.

STEP 4 ##
After 4 hours. Transfer the refrigerated marinated sliced pork belly to the kitchen benchtop. Leave the bowl on the bench for 30 mins to bring the sliced pork belly up to room temperature.

STEP 5 ##
Transfer the remaining potato starch into a food container.
After 30 mins. Arrange the marinated sliced pork belly in the food container in a single layer. Cover the food container with its lid. Shake the food container to coat the pork belly pieces with the potato starch. Repeat the same process until all the pork belly pieces are coated.

STEP 6 ##
Heat up the pan over MEDIUM heat until the oil is HOT. Dip a wooden chopstick into the oil. The oil is hot when it starts bubbling steadily. Add the pork belly pieces to the pan in small batches at any one time. Deep fry the pork belly over MEDIUM heat until they turn golden in colour. Flip the pork belly pieces to brown on the other side. Remove the pork belly pieces from the pan once they are ready. Continue to fry the pork belly pieces until they are all fried. Switch the heat OFF once all the pork belly pieces are fried.

STEP 7 ##
Remove the cooking oil leaving about 3 tbsp in the pan. Add the remaining red bean curd sauce to the pan. Add star anise and the cinnamon quill to the pan. Stir fry the mixture over MEDIUM heat for about 1 min. Add the remaining plain water to the pan. Stir the mixture until they are well combined. Bring the mixture to a boil over MEDIUM heat. Add the black fungus prepared earlier to the pan. Add the fried pork belly prepared earlier to the pan. Spread the fried pork belly evenly in the pan.
Cover the pan with its lid. Simmer the fried pork belly and black fungus over MEDIUM to LOW heat for about 40 mins.

STEP 8 ##
After 40 mins. Carefully remove the hot pan lid. Briefly stir the Hakka Braised Pork Belly to loosen. Hot water can be added gradually should a thinner gravy texture is preferred. Switch the heat OFF when the gravy reaches the desired consistency.

STEP 9 ##
Garnish generously with chopped coriander or spring onion if preferred. Serve the Hakka Braised Pork Belly immediately while it is still hot. A warm bed of rice or plain steamed bun (Gua Bao 刈包) is a must!

Happy cooking 😉🧡
Music Credits #
Yellow Rose of Berkeley
Et Voila
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