Photography Winston Chuang Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
“This is a family dish that I associate with celebration, joy and togetherness – we cook it during reunion dinners and birthdays. It’s a traditional Tong An (a province in Fujian, China) recipe from my grandfather. It’s unique because we wrap the meat with muslin cloth to seal in the rich flavours and to make it tender and moist. It’s tedious, but worth the effort.”
-Lu Lineng, 36, stay-at-home mum
Serves 8 to 10
INGREDIENTS
Shells of 1kg prawns
2kg pork belly
3 tbsp dark soya sauce
3 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp garlic, chopped
For the Stuffing
100g fresh chestnuts, blanched in hot water, skin removed
100g dried shrimps
50g dried mushrooms, soaked for 30min, stalks removed
10 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/3 bowl star anise
For the Gravy
3 big pieces pork skin, fat removed
500g chicken feet
3 pieces dried cuttlefish, soaked in water for 10min
300ml dark soya sauce
100ml light soya sauce
5 pieces rock sugar
Salt, to taste
For Garnishing
Lettuce
Coriander sprigs
DIRECTIONS
1 Place the prawn shells in a pot with enough water to cover them. Boil for 10min to make about 2 bowls of prawn stock.
2 With a knife, scour three lines on the pork belly on the meaty side as if to divide it into four big slices. Cut along the lines to make long grooves for the stuffing, but do not cut through the meat onto the skin.
3 Rub the dark and light soya sauces all over the pork belly.
4 Heat the oil in a pan. Add the sugar and cook until it caramelises. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the pork belly and sear it for 3min on each side.
5 Transfer the pork belly to a large muslin cloth, with the skin side facing down.
6 Place all the ingredients for the stuffing into the grooves of the pork belly.
7 Wrap up the pork belly tightly – tie the two diagonal corners into a knot, then tie the remaining two corners into another knot.
8 Place the wrapped pork belly, prawn stock and all the ingredients for the gravy into a big pot.
9 Add water to cover the wrapped pork belly and simmer over medium heat for 3 hours. Top up with water when the gravy runs low.
10 Untie the muslin cloth and transfer the pork belly to a large plate. Pour the gravy over, garnish and serve.
This article was originally published in Simply Her February 2011.