Steamed Pork Belly with Yam

This is my mum's recipe. I've been trying to avoid making this dish because it really is very tedious... but it taste sooooo GOOD! I suggest that you make it a couple of days earlier before serving. It keeps very well in the freezer so do make a few portions and steam it anytime you have guests over. This is a traditional Chinese dish that's sure to impress!

It's hard to visualise the whole process and I'm not the best storyteller so I've included a picture tutorial to guide you through the recipe!


Steamed Pork Belly with Yam Recipe

Ingredients:
1 kg pork belly with skin on
1 large yam
1 garlic
4 small red onions
8 red dates
6 pieces of fermented red beancurd
2 tbsp of Shao Hsing wine
2 tbsp water
1 tsp of sugar (optional)

Seasoning (Mixed well)
2 tbsp 5-spice powder
1 tsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp pepper

Method:
1. Cut pork belly into squares roughly about 10x10cm. Skin yam and cut into 1cm thick slices

2. Blanch pork in hot water for 5 min. Remove and drain. Poke some holes on the pork skin with a fork.

3. Mix the seasoning together & rub all over the pork pieces. Rub leftover seasoning on yam slices

4. Deep fry pork pieces skin side down first for 1 minute. Turn over for another minute.

5.Remove pork from oil & let it rest.

6. Meanwhile, deep fry yam slices for 1 minute. Remove and put aside for later use.

7. Put the fried pork pieces into cold water. Leave it in water for 3 hours.

8. Meanwhile, blend the garlic, small red onion and red dates.

9. Mash the fermented beancurd and add the blended paste together. Add in the water, sugar and wine as well

10. After 3 hours, remove the pork from water. Slice the pork into 1 cm thick. As you can see, the inside should still be raw.

11. Find a suitable soup bowl that is about 15-20cm

12. Dip a slice of yam into the beancurd paste. Place it on one side of the bowl. Dip a slice of pork and place it next to the yam, skin side down. Keep alternating until your bowl is full. You should have a tight fit so that when you flip the bowl around later, the shape will retain.

13. Cover the bowl with aluminium foil and steam for 4 hours. Make sure you add hot water to your steamer in between because you are steaming on high heat.

14. When ready, take the bowl out and let it rest for 15 minutes or so. This will allow the dish to firm up so that it doesn't fall apart when you flip it over onto a serving plate.

15. Place serving plate on top of bowl and flip the bowl over quickly while holding on to the plate. Ready to serve!

Steamed Yam Cake ( Wu Tao Kow)

Yam Cake (Vegetarian Version)

As you can see, I've been fascinated with yam or taro recently. Since the yam rice and yam ring recipes, I've been exploring other ways of using this tuber in my cooking. I shall be making the very popular, Steamed Pork Belly with Yam (Wu Tao Kao Yuk), Claypot Pork Ribs with Yam (Nga Po Wu Tao Pai Kuat), and complete my yam fascination with the Teochew Yam Pudding (Oh-Nee).

Some people like their yam cake chunky and some like it smooth. Whichever way you choose to have it, yam cake or "Wu Tao Kow", is a favourite snack amongst the Malaysian Chinese community & it is very easy to make! It doesn't matter what portion you make, you just have to remember your 1 part rice flour to 2 part water ratio. To make it taste better, you should try to get the "Pan Long" Yam (Can anyone tell me what this is in English?). You could try other types of yam which may give the cake a flourish texture.

Yam Cake with Dried Shrimps & Chinese Sausage

 Steamed Yam Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

1 yam (either 1 cm cubed or shredded) into 1 1/2 rice bowl full

1 rice bowl of rice flour
2 rice bowls of water
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp of dried shrimps (soaked & chopped finely) - omit for vegetarians
1 Chinese sausage (chopped finely) - optional

Seasoning: (mixed together)
1 1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Garnishing:
Sliced red chilli
Finely sliced scallions
Dried shrimps, pan fried & minced - omit for vegetarians & replace with deep fried minced "choy bo", pickled daikon

Method:

1. Prepare the rice flour batter by mixing the flour and water. Stir well to ensure no lumps in batter
2. Heat up 3 tablespoon of oil in wok. Saute garlic, dried shrimps and sausages. Add yam and 1/2 of seasoning and fry for 5 minutes.
3. Prepare a steaming pan by oiling the sides very lightly. Pour the batter into the pan and mix in the balance seasoning.
4.  Add the fried yam into the pan. Stir well to ensure no clumps.  
5. Steam the cake for 1 hour on high heat. 
6. Let it cool down before garnishing. 

Yam Ring with Salted Egg Chicken

Yam Ring - first attempt (4 March 2012

I found the yam ring recipe by Amy Beh from Kuali. As this is my first time making it, I followed the recipe to the dot. My yam dough was a little softer than I would like it to be... probably because of that last teaspoon of water I added right at the end (Itchy hands!). So don't add anything unnecessary!

You can make a few of these rings ahead and keep them in the freezer for later use. Great for sprucing up your stirfries. I've prepared salted egg chicken for my centre filling (Please check out my next post for the recipe!). Traditionally, you'd have the Kung Pao Chicken or Lor Hon Chai (Mixed Vegetables).

 

Yam Ring Recipe ( Adapted from Amy Beh in KUALI)

Ingredients:
500g yam, cubed
Enough oil for deep-frying
75g tang mein fun (wheat starch)
Just enough boiling hot water

Seasoning:
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp concentrated chicken stock
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder
75g shortening

Method

1. Steam yam until soft and tender. 

2. Mash while still hot then mix in tang mein fun and just enough boiling water. Mix well into a dough. 

3. Add ingredients (A) and combine. Leave refridgerated for 1 hour.

4. Form the dough into a ring shape. Make a hole in a round disposable aluminium pie dish and place the ring in the dish. the dish will help you lift up the ring without breaking it.

5. Heat oil in deep fryer. Lower the dish into the oil and deep-fry until crispy and golden brown. 

6. Remove and drain well.

Yam Rice

Yam Rice (Feb 2012)

There used to be a really great stall in Section 17, Petaling Jaya, serving yam rice with 3 types of meat dishes and 8 types of soup. The dishes are not quite your usual affairs ~ wild boar curry, yellow wine chicken & braised chicken feet. Not to mentioned some of my favourite soups like coconut chicken soup, black chicken ginseng soup and salted vegetable soup! But alas, the store no longer exist! If anyone knows where else I can find these types of dishes, do let me know!    

Yam rice is a wholesome one pot meal. It's easy to prepare and great to satisfy any yam lovers' craving. If you make your own, you'd probably go heavy on the yam like I did! It's optional to add other ingredients like the pork mince or the mushrooms.

Ingredients for Yam Rice

Stirfry uncooked rice in wok

Yam Rice Recipe (Serves 5-6)

Ingredients:
3 cups of rice
3 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of yam, diced into cubes

100g minced meat / chinese sausages diced finely
5 dried chinese mushrooms, soaked & sliced finely
1 tbsp of dried shrimp, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 shallot, sliced finely

Seasoning:
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp of dark sauce
1/2 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of cooking wine
1/2 tsp of white pepper

Garnishing:
Chopped chinese parsley
Deep fried shallots

Method:

1. First, soak and rinse rice. 
2. Heat up wok and add 1 tbsp of oil. Fry dried shrimp, garlic and shallot till fragrant.
3. Add yam, minced meat and mushrooms. Pour in seasoning as well. Fry until minced meat does not have clumps. 
4. Pour in all the uncooked rice into wok. Mix and stir rice until it is evenly coated with seasoning.
5. Transfer rice into rice cooker and add water. The amount of water I've given you is an estimate as it depends on the type of rice and ingredient that you use. To tell you the truth, I use the finger and knuckle test. It never goes wrong.   
6. Once ready, give the rice a good stir before serving!