Steamed Pork Belly with Taro
Covers the layering, steaming, and sauce-thickening steps for taro pressed pork, and explains how star anise enhances its aroma.
Ingredients
Pork belly (cut into pieces 7 cm long, 4 cm high, 2 cm thick)
as needed
Taro (cut into pieces 7 cm long, 4 cm high, 2 cm thick)
as needed
Minced garlic
to taste
Fermented red tofu (mashed)
to taste
Fine salt
to taste
Sugar
to taste
Shaoxing Hua Diao wine
to taste
Light stock
as needed
White pepper (for mixing with taro)
a pinch
Star anise (two per portion of pork)
2
Dark soy sauce (for coloring)
to taste
Wet cornstarch (for glazing)
to taste
Lettuce (for lining)
as needed
Instructions
1
Layering
Place the pork slices in a large plate and mix well with minced garlic, mashed fermented red tofu, fine salt, sugar, Shaoxing Hua Diao wine, and light stock. Coat the taro with white pepper (some cooks use five-spice powder instead). Layer the pork and taro slices alternately in a plum-blossom-and-bamboo pattern, stacking them neatly in portioned sizes (skin side down) inside an inverted bowl. Once assembled, evenly distribute the remaining sauce over the top, and place two star anise in each portion.
2
Steaming
Place the assembled pork into a steamer and steam over medium heat for 30 minutes until cooked through. The advantage of this dish is that it can be prepared ahead of time during a quiet moment and reheated whenever needed during busy service.
3
Serving
To serve, pour off the sauce from the bowl, then invert the pork onto a hot clay pot lined with lettuce. Return the collected sauce to the wok, add dark soy sauce to adjust the color, then thicken with wet cornstarch to make a glossy glaze and pour it over the pork before serving.
