Twice Cooked Pork Belly is one of my favourite dish. I like to order this whenever I visit a Shanghai restaurant. I’m glad that Julie demonstrated how to make it in the South Arm Community Kitchen.

Twice Cooked Pork Belly is a spicy dish and quite heavy in seasonings. So, it goes best with steam rice.

Julie served the Twice Cooked Pork Belly with Hong-Zao Fried Rice along with another dish; Hong-Zao Stir-Fried Pork. The meal ended with Sweet Potato Soup with lots of ginger to enhance the flavour.

Here is the recipe for the Twice Cooked Pork Belly.

Ingredients

• 1 slab of pork belly, about 1 lb
• 1 medium cabbage
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
• 1 tablespoon spicy broad bean paste (“lark tou pan jiang”) or chilli sauce
• 1 tablespoon sweet fermented bean paste (“tien mien jiang”)
• dark soy sauce for colour
• sugar to taste

Instructions

Cooked the pork belly once in the pot of boiling water for about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on how thick the slab.

Cut up the cabbages into 2″ pieces, wash and drain the water using a salad spinner or a coliander.

After the pork belly has cooled down, slice it thinly.

In a wok or deep frying pan, saute the chopped ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add in the sliced cooked pork belly and stir fry a bit.

Season the pork belly with the spicy broad bean paste and sweet fermented bean paste. Add some dark soy sauce for colouring. Also add some sugar to balance the saltiness and spiciness of the spicy broad bean paste. Stir fry to mix well.

Add in the cabbages, mix well. Cover to steam for a few minutes.

The dish is ready when the cabbages have wilted and soft but still crisp. Enjoy with a bowl of steam rice.