Red Beancurd Braised Pork Belly & Potato
-
30 minutes prep time
-
180 minutes cook time
-
Intermediate
Chinese red beancurd braised pork belly and potato is simple to prepare. And there's little more comforting than an aromatic steaming one-pot dish when the weather starts to turn.
Preserved red beancurd - tofu fermented in deep red rice and wine - brings a colour and balance to the sweet sauce and rich meat. Give it a try in this classic Chinese slow braised pork belly and potato recipe.
Ingredients Serves: 4
- 650g pork belly, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, peeled
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 cubes of red beancurd (75g) plus 25g of the liquid
- 350ml water
- 2 tbsp light soy
- 1 tsp dark soy
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp Chinese five spice
- 250g peeled potatoes, roughly cut into 1 inch cubes
- Spring onions to garnish
Method
- Blend together the onion and garlic in a food processor to make a smooth puree. Add a little water if needed to help it blend.
- Blanche the pork belly in boiling water. Lift out, drain, and cut into 2cm cubes.
- Heat oil in large pan, and pan fry pork until it starts to brown. Lift out of the pan and set aside.
- Turn down heat and add onion and garlic puree, stirring to lift the browned pork away from the base of the pan. Mash in the beancurd and beancurd liquid to make a pinkish puree. Fry gently for a further 1 minute.
- Add the pork and stir well. Pour in the boiling water, light soy, dark soy, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, sugar and 5-spice. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 2 1/2 hours. Add the peeled potatoes after 1 hour. The dish is cooked when the pork is tender and the braising liquid is lightly thickened and cloudy with potato starch.