Tau Eu Bak or Braised Pork Belly in Soy Sauce

Tau Eu Bak is so flavourful and fragrant that my family finish the whole pot of it at a meal sitting. Braised over low heat slowly, the meat literally "melt" in the mouth. Sometimes, eggs are boiled and added to the pot. Deep-fried tau kwa can also be added to it. It is usually eaten with white rice. However, in restaurants, one may order mantou (Chinese steamed buns) to eat the Tau Eu Bak with.

Ingredients:

• 300 g pork belly 
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed with skin on
• 1 pc of cinnamon stick (about 3 inches)
• 1 1/2 cup water

Method:

• Wash and cut the pork belly into bite-size pieces.

• Marinade the pork belly with light and dark soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine, salt and pepper powder for at least 30 minutes.

• Heat up kuali with cooking oil.

• Saute chopped garlic till fragrant.

• Add marinated pork belly to the kuali.

• Fry till pork belly is fragrant.

• Transfer belly to a pot.

• Add water to the pot.

• Add the crushed garlic and cinnamon stick to the pot.

• Cover the pot and let the pork belly cook over low heat till they are soft. It takes up to 1-1.5 hours for the pot of meat to be soft and more fragrant. (You may add deep-fried tau kwa to be braised with the pork belly and boiled eggs when the pork belly is cooked.)

• The Tau Eu Bak is ready for serving.