braised pork belly with ginger, garlic and dried chilli

Until I recover from my intensive cake-baking session, dinner has to be kept simple.

So continuing with my theme of "SIMPLICITY", I am sharing a recipe for braised pork belly today. Pork belly is tasty, but it also has more fat, so if you are not into belly meat, then by all means substitute the belly with prime ribs.

The ingredients for this are really simple. In a heated wok, I added vegetable oil. Into this, I added garlic and ginger and saute them for a few minutes, until I could smell the ginger cooking.

I added the dried chilli which had been soaked with boiling water (for about 10 minutes).

And a little sugar. Stir until the sugar had completely dissolved.

The pork belly was added.

I cooked the pork until all the pieces had turned white. Then I added water, and the light and dark soy sauces as well as the pepper.

This was simmered (covered) on low heat for about 45 to 50 minutes, until the meat was tender.

This was really good, with rice. :)

RECIPE 
Braised Pork Belly with Garlic, GInger and Dried Chilli (Serves 2 - 4)
Adapted from "Old Hokkien Delights" by Tan Yong Hua

Ingredients:
500g pork belly, cut into thick pieces
80g garlic, skin left on
50g old ginger, sliced
60g sugar
10g dried chilli, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes to soften, then drained
800ml water
1 tablespoon dark soy
5 tablespoons light soy
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Method:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok. Fry garlic and ginger for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add dried chilli and sugar. Cook until sugar has completely dissolved.
3. Add pork, continue to cook until the pork has turned white. Add water, light and dark soy sauce, and pepper.
4. Simmer on low heat (covered) for 40-45 minutes, until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened.
5. Serve immediately, with rice.

I am submitting this recipe for Cook-Your-Books hosted by Kitchen Flavours.