I have a weakness. Pork belly is my weakness. There’s just something about tender meat that melt-in-your-mouth the moment it touches your tongue. I never really use to like eating the fatty bits of the pork belly. I remember when I did marketing, I used to look for the piece that had less fat and more meat. But now, I look for equal proportions haha. The mr has changed me for the better. I didn’t know what I have been missing! And now when we are back in Singapore, we would meet Stephie for a meal of fatty pork! Can’t wait till the end of the year! (:
After the mr’s family went back, we had heaps of food left in the freezer and I needed to clear it or I won’t be able to buy other things! I opened the freezer and saw a container of sliced pork belly. Immediately, I knew what I wanted to cook – kong ba (twice-cooked pork belly). Nothing beats slow braised pork belly that is caramelised till the meat is soft and easily breaks apart. YUMS!
Traditionally, you would eat it with a soft steamed bun. But I was too lazy to head out to Springvale to get it and found some man tou in the fridge so I steamed that instead. Though it’s not as soft as the traditional buns, they worked well too! Plus, to off-set the unhealthy fatty bits, we had it with lettuce! This is the epitome of a balanced diet haha (:
Do note that usually, you would use a whole slab of pork belly and slice it up after, but mine was already sliced up. To me, there wasn’t much difference, in fact I think it works better and you don’t have to risk burning your fingers to slice them up later. But either way, you’ll have yummies in your tummies!
Kong Ba (adapted from To Food With Love)
1kg pork belly (either whole or sliced)
1/2 tsp thick caramel black soy + 4 tbs extra
2 shallots, thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp five-spice powder
2 tbs light soy
1 tbs honey
2 tbs sugar
1/2 star anise
1 tsp sesame oil
2 cups water
bunch of coriander, roughly chopped and separate into 2 portions
ground white pepper
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
Steps :
1) Boil a large pot of water and boil the pork belly for 15-20 minutes. Remove and rinse the pork under cold water before patting them dry. Allow it to cool slightly and rub the skin with 1/2 tbs of thick caramel dark soy.
2) In a frying pan, heat enough vegetable oil on medium heat. Be careful not to heat it too high. Carefully lower the pork belly into the oil and fry till the skin is crisp (about 5 minutes). Do be very careful as there will be a very big splatter, use a splatter screen to avoid being burnt. Take the pork belly out carefully and drain off the excess oil using paper towel. (If you use a whole slab of pork belly, slice the pork belly to 1/2 inches thick after it has cooled down.)
3) In a large metal bowl, add the rest of the caramel thick dark soy, light soy, honey, sugar, star anise, five-spice powder, garlic, shallots and sesame oil and mix till well combined. Add the fried pork belly and marinade for at least 30 minutes.
4) In a medium sized pot, add 1 tbs vegetable oil and fry the pork belly until they are seared well. Add the rest of the marinade and top it with 2 cups of water. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add half of the coriander (including the stems) and continue to simmer for 1/2 hour. Check occasionally and turn the pork to make sure it is evenly covered in the sauce. The pork should be tender and the liquid should be reduced to a thicker consistency. Season with ground white pepper. Garnish with the rest of the coriander before serving with hot steamed buns and lettuce!
Enjoy! (:
Remember to always cook with love!
Food Made With Love 
Yessssss loves me pork belly, but love it when it’s extra crispy lol!!!
hehe thats true! I love it extra crispy too! hehe
love melt-in-your mouth pork belly ^^ beautiful dear 🙂
thanks love! (: hehe x
Gosh that looks yummy! 🙂
hehe thanks Ling! (: its very satisfying! hehe
I’ve never heard of Kong Ba 🙂 But i sure like pork belly even though it’s fully of fattiness i DON’T care hahaha the fattier the better wakakaka! I bet I’ll love these ~ soooooo did you have left overs and wakkaa will they be in your freezer somewhere? 😛 just kidding hehe
haha they were all gone that night dearrrr! haha (: you and your wanting to try my cooking! so funny and im so honoured really. (: try this! I’m sure mr bao and you will like it! hehe xx
hahaha you know I will do anything for your food and especially leftovers 😛 they’re like the best lunches I can thin of 😛 but you know i’m just kidding hahaha no pressure!
I’ll tryyyy and persuade him to make it 😛 if it was up to me we’ll just be eating pumpkin soup every night hahah
Hehe you can make more than that! 🙂 x
Opps, sorry I haven’t get around sending you Mrs Leong Kong Ba recipe. Very similar in ingredients but steps are different.
Heh don’t worry about it! 🙂 I know you’re busy and didnt wanna trouble u! All good! All yummy! Hhe
Hey, I made this – it was great!
Loved wrapping up the pork and a bit of sauce in a crispy lettuce leaf, and biting into it.. mmm
My only comments would be to ‘stick to the recipe’ 🙂
When I had the marinade simmering in the pot with the pork and everything in, I thought it tasted a bit weak and threw more honey and soy and rice wine in. You know, gave it a bit more oomph. But, OMG by the time the sauce had thickened it was a killer. So so strong. Next time I’ll keep keep it weaker just like the recipe does.
I’m wondering about the dark caramel soy? I bought and used some dark caramel sauce, and it made a nice crispy shell on the pork when I deep fried it. But otherwise all it seemed to add was bitterness to the flavour.
I’m guessing I was supposed to use dark soy sauce? A little bit caramely and thick, but still an actual soy sauce.
Talking about caramel, I noticed you dropped the step where you sear the pork in caramel in the fry pan that the ‘To food with Love’ recipe does. I didn’t do it either, but am curious about it. Was wondering why you left that out?
Hi Simeon! Thanks for your feedback and im glad you enjoyed it! I actually used the same dark caramel sauce so I’m not sure why yours added a bitter taste to the dish. The reason why I didn’t fry the meat in the caramel in the pan is because I don’t like my dish to be too sweet! haha But also cause I have a high tendency of burning the caramel in the pan. :X But if yours tastes a bit bitter, maybe you should try doing the caramel step! It might help! (: Hope this helps!