All posts tagged: Pork

Braised Pork Belly with Meigan Cai

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Ever since I bought a pack of Meigan cai, or pickled Chinese mustard, I feel the urge of making braised pork whenever I see meigan cai. I guess this stuff is addictive! Meigan cai is dried and pickled Chinese mustard. It is known in Taiwan as a ingredient of Hakka dish, but in fact it’s quite popular in the whole south-eastern China. Chinese mustard is a magical plant for me. There are at least five types of popular pickles are made from it. Each pickle go through different phases of process, and thus each has their special flavor. Since Meigan cai is the pickle which takes longest time to make among the Chinese mustard pickle family, it has a very deep, intense, and mild flavor. To “wake up” your meigan cai, you need to soak it in clean water till it turns soft, and then fry it to bring out its fragrance. Even though Meigan cai is generally fermented with salt, sugar, and chili pepper, there are still some minor differences in taste and flavor …

Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly & Extra Firm Tofu

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My ultimate comfort food is Taiwanese braised pork. Whenever I open the cover of a pot of Taiwanese braised pork, for a moment I almost feel that I’m in the lively wet market in Taipei, enjoying hot and yummy food. Normally I use extra firm tofu from Asian grocery stores, but since I found the high protein tofu from Trader Joe’s, I was so addicted to its natural soy flavor and started using it exclusively . By adding Sichuan peppercorn, my braised pork has a little kick of spice, which makes it more addictive. Enjoy! Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly Recipe Yield: 8-10 bento Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 40-50 minutes Ingredients: 3-4 pork belly strips, around 1lb Warm water 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 scallion, cut into chunks 3-4 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corn powder 2-3 chili peppers 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup cooking rice wine 2 tbsp dark soy sauce 14 oz extra firm tofu, diced 3-4 hard boiled egg (optional) Method: In a medium …