Sunday, May 13, 2012

Taste Tradition - Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Cabbage a.k.a. Mui Choy


OK, so I think I got some momentum on this now and managed today to capture a third post on traditional Chinese recipes from mom. 

Have you seen or eaten Mui Choy/Mei Cai/Preserved Mustard Cabbage before? It looks like this after soaking for 2-3 hours.


So here's what I managed to download from mom's head. She learned to cook this as a teenager - mind you, we're talking about somewhere around the 1950s. 

Ingredients:
500g Pork Belly (wash it in hot boiling water on the stove for 15 min - see pic below)
300g Mui Choy/Preserved Mustard Cabbage (soak for 2-3 hours)
6 Garlic, minced
Rice Vinegar, 1 Tbsp
Dark Soya Sauce, 1 Tbsp
Sesame Oil, 1/2 Tbsp
Salt and Pepper


Method
1. Soak vegetable for 2-3 hours, then cut into 1/2" thick - see pic.
2. Clean pork belly as above and cut into 1/2" thick - see pic.




3. Heat oil in hot pan, then add minced garlic. 
4. When fragrant and slightly brown, add meat. Stir for 2 minutes.
5. Add seasoning - pinch of salt, pepper, sesame oil, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar.
6. Allow taste to infuse, then add vegetable.
7. Add more dark soya sauce so meat and vegetable are of same colour (optional).
8. Stir for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
9. Add 2 bowls of water, bring to boil, then allow to simmer till almost dry, then add another 2 bowls of water.
10. Simmer for half an hour, partially covered, till meat is tender.
11. Serve with a bowl of steamed organic brown rice. 






Find yourself a nice wooden bench and enjoy with a pair of chopsticks. As with all Chinese moms, my mom makes enough to last a week. In all honesty, this dish tastes best after a day or two!

Click here to see the first post on Mom's 10-minute whole fish dish and the second on Chap Chye (Chinese Mixed Vegetables).


Speaking of moms, don't forget to wish yours, Happy Mother's Day today!




4 comments:

  1. I didn't know rice vinegar is used to season this dish, and now I do, thanks for sharing.

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  2. Hi Wendy, in fact, my mom ferments her own rice wine vinegar! I should blog about that some time. Thanks for popping by.

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  3. Yumm... I think I'll cook this for my next senior citizens cookout in June. Hope the folks at Sarah Senior Citizens Activity like it. Will let you know ;-)

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  4. That's a good idea, Trish. I'm sure they'll love it. I would suggest cooking it a day earlier so the meat is more tender for them. All the best, and do let me know when you've had a go at it!

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