Simple Pork Stew

“Mom, can I have Pork Stew for Dinner tomorrow?”… yes, that’s Max placing his meal order. (chuckling)…he likes to do that, place his order early in the morning or for the following day.

Here is a very simple recipe with ingredients ready in most kitchen, Chinese kitchen actually.

2 tbsp of sunflower oil

400g pork belly strip, trim off skin, cut into ¾-1 inch chunk

2 tsp of sesame oil

2½ tbsp of thick soy sauce

2 tsp of oyster sauce

2 tbsp of light soy sauce

3 shallots, chopped

5 pips of garlic, chopped

700-850ml water

Pork belly is used with some thin layers of fats in between of meat, rather than pure lean meat. The layers of fats after cooking 2-3 hours will soften and what you have are soft, tender and succulent morsels that can almost melt in your mouth. I always choose the leanest of the pork belly, trim off skin and fats except those in between the layers of meat. While I enjoy and can appreciate them but I seriously do consider the long-term effects on our arteries.

Let's start,

1.      Heat up sunflower oil in wok.

2.      On medium flame, fry garlic and shallot till fragrant but not brown.

3.      Add in pork and stir-fry for 5 minutes.

4.      Add in sesame oil, then seasoning sauce of dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and oyster sauce. Give it a stir. It should be very fragrant by now.

5.       Pour in water and let it come to a boil.

6.      Transfer the stew to a Vision pot or claypot and let it simmer slowly at low flame. Make sure you check regularly that the gravy doesn’t dry up.

7.      The stew should be ready in about 2 - 2½ hours when the pork meat is tender (you can check with a fork)

The gravy will thicken a little as it cools. Garnish with chopped parsley (optional) and serve warm fragrant pork stew with gravy over hot fluffy white rice.

Note:Max had 2 small bowls of rice for dinner… J