Steamed Pork Belly with Taro

Name: Steamed Pork Belly with Taro
Ingredients: 500g Pork belly; 400g Lipu taro (cut into rectangular blocks 6 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, and 4 cm thick); As needed Green vegetables (blanched and used as a side garnish); 1g Minced garlic; 0.5g Ground star anise; 15g Fermented red tofu (nanru); 2.5g Fine salt; 5g Sugar; 25g Dark soy sauce (10g for brushing the meat, 10g for the sauce, 5g for thickening); 10g Wet cornstarch (for thickening); 200g Light broth (dan er tang); 1500g Peanut oil (about 75g actually used)

A Cantonese classic, this dish layers deep-fried pork belly with Lipu taro and steams them together until the rich reddish-brown pork turns meltingly tender and the taro becomes soft and fluffy. The result is a distinctive, deeply savory flavor.

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Ingredients

Pork belly 500g

Lipu taro (cut into rectangular blocks 6 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, and 4 cm thick) 400g

Green vegetables (blanched and used as a side garnish) As needed

Minced garlic 1g

Ground star anise 0.5g

Fermented red tofu (nanru) 15g

Fine salt 2.5g

Sugar 5g

Dark soy sauce (10g for brushing the meat, 10g for the sauce, 5g for thickening) 25g

Wet cornstarch (for thickening) 10g

Light broth (dan er tang) 200g

Peanut oil (about 75g actually used) 1500g

Instructions

Cut and parboil

Cut the taro into rectangular blocks 6 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, and 4 cm thick. Singe off the hairs on the pork skin with a flame, scrape clean, and place in boiling water. Cook until about 70% soft, then remove and brush evenly with soy sauce (10g).

Prepare the sauce mixture

Combine the minced garlic, fermented red tofu, fine salt, ground star anise, sugar, and soy sauce (10g) into a seasoning mixture.

Fry the ingredients

Heat a wok over medium heat, add oil and heat until 80% hot. Fry the taro blocks until cooked, then remove. Add the pork and fry for about 3 minutes until deep red. Drain in a strainer, then rinse in clean water for about 30 minutes. Remove and cut into pieces the same size as the taro blocks.

Steam the pork

Toss the pork pieces in the seasoning mixture until evenly coated. Arrange them skin-side down in a large bowl, alternating with the taro blocks. Steam over medium heat for about 1 hour until tender, then remove and invert onto a large plate. Garnish the sides with the blanched green vegetables.

Thicken and pour the sauce

Heat a wok over medium heat. Pour in the original steaming juices, add the light broth and soy sauce (5g). Thicken with wet cornstarch slurry, stir in oil (15g), and pour evenly over the steamed pork to finish.