Dish of Pork Stew Nonya
(click to enlarge)

Pork Stew Nonya


Singapore   -   Babi Pongteh
Makes :
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-1/2 #
***
2-1/2 hrs
Yes		 Deliciously indulgent with Pork Belly, as in photo, but also tasty using Pork Shoulder. It's easy to make and reheats very well. See also Comments.

2
7
-------
4
4
-------
2
1-1/2
2
2/3
-------
6
1/4
1
2/3
#

---
oz
cl
---
T
T
T
t
---
cl
c

c
Pork (1)
Black Mushroom (2)  
-- Paste-A
Shallots
Garlic
-- Paste-B
Bean Sauce (3)
Palm Sugar (4)
Soy Sauce (5)
Salt
-------
Garlic (more)
Oil
Cassia Stick (6)
Water
Prep   (40 min)
  1. Set BLACK MUSHROOMS soaking in warm water. They need at least 30 minutes. Stem them and cut into quarters.
  2. IF PORK BELLY, cut into rectangular cubes. In general, length will be the thickness of the belly. One side is about 1 inch (usually the width of a slice, and about 3/4 inch on the other side. If using PORK SHOULDER, cut into pieces of similar size but shorter.
  3. Chop SHALLOTS fine. Peel 4 cloves of GARLIC and chop fine. Mix and pound to a coarse paste in a large mortar - this is a lot less trouble than using a Blender or Mixie, but a mini-prep processor might work OK.
  4. Crush Bean Sauce if it's a whole bean version. Mix all Paste-B items.
  5. Peel 6 cloves GARLIC and leave them whole.
Run   (25 min)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan (3-1/2 quart) or wok, heat Oil over medium flame. Stir in Shallot paste and Cinnamon Stick. Fry stirring until raw smell abates, but no browning.
  2. Stir in Bean Sauce paste and fry stirring for 1 minute.
  3. Stir in Pork and fry stirring until coated with the paste, then stir in 2/3 cup Water. Bring to a boil, stirring often for about 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in quartered Mushrooms and the whole Garlic Cloves. Bring back to a boil, then cover and turn to a simmer until Pork is tender, 1 to 1-1/2 hrs. Stir now and then and adjust liquid as needed to form a sauce of the consistency you prefer.
  5. Serve hot, along with plenty of steamed Jasmine rice. This dish reheats very well.
NOTES:

  1. Pork:

      Made with Pork Belly, as in the photo example, this dish is richly deliciously, less rich, but still delicious if using Pork Shoulder, especially if some fat is included, or a mix of both. Keep in mind, the Low Fat Diet has been exposed as fraudulent from the get-go, and probably harmful. The pattern recipe, written in London, calls for Pork Belly "skinned", but here on the Pacific Rim we use it "skin-on" for better flavor and texture.

  2. Black Mushrooms:

      These are the regular dried Shiitakes available anywhere with an Asian section. For details see our Shiitake Mushrooms page.

  3. Yellow Bean Sauce:

      This is a fermented soy bean sauce widely used in Southeast Asia, and available in any decent Asian market. For details see our Yellow Bean Sauce page.

  4. Palm Sugar

      This is available in pretty much all Southeast and East Asian markets. I buy it in lumps of about 1 Tablespoon each. If you don't have it, use a lightly refines sugar such as Turbinado.

  5. Soy Sauce:

      The pattern recipe calls 2 T dark soy sauce, but I wanted it a bit lighter, so I used 1 T dark and 1 T regular soy sauce.

  6. Cassia Bark

      This is what passes for "Cinnamon" here in North America, and also dominates in Southeast Asia. For details see our Cinnamon / Cassia page.

  7. Comments:

      "Nonya Cuisine" is a fusion cuisine from the Straits Chinese (Peranakan). They descend from Chinese merchants who settled in Malaysia, marrying Malaysian women. The women blended Chinese features into their Malaysian cuisine to please their husbands. In addition to the Palm Sugar, the pattern recipe called for an additional 1 T of Castor Sugar. In my opinion, that much sugar would be far beyond my tolerance - this recipe doesn't need it.
  8. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch tt=to taste ar=as required
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