Baby Pong Tay - 2011 TMX Calendar

[johnro]

Very flavoursome and tasty dish, I served it with steamed brown rice.  Probably not one to try if you dislike eating belly pork - will definitely serve again, remembering pic next time. Cheers - 

[Merlin]

I have made this one about 6 times now and each time my entire family gobbles it up. 1 definitely give this a 5/5. The only thing I do differently is to add more vegetables ie I had some green beans lurking in my fridge the other day as well as capsicum so I tend to just chuck in some vegetables about 15 minutes before the end. I have also served it with rice noodles instead of rice as the noodles go all yummy and slippery with the delicious sauce (plus my kids have fun slurping them up). This recipe is definitely not one to do if youre in a hurry due to the long cooking times, but I wouldnt want to do it any faster anyway as it makes the pork belly so tender and tasty. My personal taste would recommend marinating the meat longer than the 15 minutes in the recipe. I did one the other day with at least 3 hours marinating and it turned out really well. Otherwise, this recipe is definitely a firm family favourite at the moment!

[judydawn]

We loved it too, belly pork has to be DH's favourite meat!

[Very Happy Jan]

Must buy the calendar. We love pork belly

[judydawn]

Hi VHJ, I was sent this recipe so I will pass it onto you.  I only did 1/3 for the 2 of us as I only had 4 spareribs but we both really enjoyed it and next time I go to the market I will get a whole slab of belly pork. 

Babi pong tay

Ingredients
1 kg pork belly, cut into 3cm cubes
2 tbsp each thick soy sauce and light soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp Chinese wine
1 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp cornflour
5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 cm piece Ginger, peeled
1/2 onion, peeled
1 1/2 tbsp fermented soy beans, rinsed
1 cinnamon stick
25 g oil
8-10 pieces dried shitake mushrooms, soaked
White pepper to taste

Method
Marinate pork belly in large bowl with soy sauces, sugar, Chinese wine, sesame oil and cornflour for at least 15 min or longer if possible
Place garlic, coriander, ginger, onion and soy beans into TM bowl and chop 30sec speed 6
Add cinnamon stock and oil. Sauté 3 min Varoma temp speed 1
Add marinated pork and sliced mushrooms. Cook 5 min Varoma temp   
Add enough water to just cover pork and cook further 15 min Varoma temp   
Cook a further 45 min at 100°C  on   or until pork tender
Adjust seasonings to taste and serve with steamed rice

[JulieO]

Thanks for posting the recipe Judy, I have some pork belly in the freezer so will give this a try.  I haven't any fermented soy beans though, can't say I've seen them in the supermarket.  Are they in any particular aisle, does anyone know? 

[Very Happy Jan]

Thanks JD. I saw on another thread that members were applauding your contributions and helpfulness - let me once again reaffirm my whole hearted agreement.
 This has jumped to the top of the list to make but I need to track down some fermented soy beans.

[judydawn]

I had to ask what they were too then discovered some black beans in my fridge which I had bought ages ago in a Chinese supermarket.  Don't use blackbean sauce, try and find the whole blackbeans.

Thanks for your kind words VHJ, great recipes need to be shared.

[Very Happy Jan]

Aahh. So they are marketed as Blackbeans.  I have seen small tins of blackbeans in Coles so will check today. thanks JD

[Zan]

The fermented soy beans - I asked in our asian shop and got salted soy beans. They are soy beans not black beans in a jar.

I've also made this a couple of times and we all enjoy it.

[judydawn]

Zan there are probably different products you could use here but I googled and found this statement so knew it was OK to use the salted black beans - I had them anyway so was a good way to use them.


"Not to be confused with the black beans found in Mexican cooking, Chinese fermented black beans (also called salted black beans) are made by fermenting soybeans in garlic, salt and other spices. "

[Merlin]

When judydawn asked me what the fermented soybeans are, I replied that you can use any jar of salted or fermented black beans eg black bean paste, but not black bean sauce, which is usually a marinade/ stir fry sauce. I  have a jar of salted black beans in the fridge and find they work really well. I know you can also get soy beans, but either way, you can't really do the recipe without them. I know that when I received the calendar, it was the first thing that struck me to make, and I'm definitely glad I did. Like most TM recipes, you can just use whatever suits your taste and must adapt the recipe accordingly.

[johnro]

I too used salted soya beans, I rinsed them as suggested in the recipe     -  a link to some pics of fermented soy beans, the salted soya beans look very similar - 
http://www.google.com.au/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1280&bih=777&q=fermented+soybeans&gbv=2&aq=0s&aqi=g-s1g-msx1&aql=&oq=fermented+soy+beans

[Zan]

yep Robyn that's what mine looked like. Would be interested in the black bean equivalent. I don't imagine they'd change the flavour at all, such a small amount, and they are all beans, but maybe colour it a little more?

[versaceyoyo]

Am making this now.  I think 'fermented soya beans' may refer to what the Japanese call 'natto'.  They have a very strong flavour and definitely would not be to everyone's liking.  It sounds like the salted black beans are a more benign option!  But it would be good to get some clarification about which beans the recipe is referring to.