Braised Pork Bellies with Tofu and Egg

Looks like kway chap too!!

If you are a fan of pork bellies, this mouth watering dish will certainly win you over! And the best thing is it is very easy to prepare and it goes well with rice!!

Star Anise

One of the main seasoning that is used for this dish is star anise and five spice powder (五香粉).  Star anise is normally used in slow cooked dishes that characterize Eastern Chinese cuisines. And coincidentally, the five spice powder we are using for this dish contains star anise in it as well. Be careful not to put too much of the spice blend into your dish as the food gets bitter if too much of it is being used. Both of these seasoning are easily available in either Chinese drug store or dry good shop.

Ingredients: (For 4~5 person)
500gram of Pork Bellies (pan fried first - optional)
5 ~ 6 pieces of Tofu (sliced)
6 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 liter of Water (use stock if possible, it will enhance the taste of the whole dish!)
Caixin (pan fried with garlic)
Can choose to add in meat balls, fried bean curd or even pig intestine.

The seasoning

Seasoning: (rough estimation, do taste it to adjust to your taste preference)
4~5 cloves of Garlic
6~7 slices of Ginger
1 and a half tsp of Five Spice Powder (五香粉)
2 tsp of Sugar
1 tsp of Salt
4 pieces of Star Anise
2 tbsp of Black sauce

Once you have all the ingredients needed, you are ready to cook!!

Directions:
1.Heat up a pot under low heat and put in the sugar. (beware not to burn the sugar, it will turn to black color)
2. Melt the sugar until it turn brown.
3. Add in water/stock.
4. Add in the remaining of the seasoning and turn on high heat.
5. Taste the sauce and add in salt accordingly to your liking.
6. Let it boil before adding in the pork bellies.
7. Add in the tofu thereafter and follow by the eggs.
8. Let it simmer under low heat for around 90 mins to 120 mins depending how soft you want your pork bellies to be.
9. If you prefer the sauce to be thicker, add in some corn flour mixture (mix with water).
10. Scoop up and topped up with some cooked Caixin at the side.
Serve with plain white rice~~!! Yumeee~!!

This dish goes very well with the special chili sauce that was prepared by my dad which is quite similar to those you eat with beef noodles. I will be featuring the recipe for that chili sauce soon!!