Tau Yu Bak aka Braised Pork In Soy Sauce is a Chinese dish commonly seen in Singapore homes. The stars of this simple dish are the meat from the belly area, and the soy sauce, which can make or break the entire dish.
Depending on how much time you have, you can either prepare it in a thermal cooker (my preferred method) or cook it over a low fire (which takes at least 3 hours). Personally, I prefer to use a 1:1 mixture of pork belly and twee bak (pork shoulder) as it provides a good contrast of textures.
Choosing Your Cuts
For those who are not as familiar with the different cuts, a good piece of pork belly has a firm texture and should look like a brick of meat with alternative layers of fats and meat. It does best when cooked slowly over low heat as it helps the fat to render and becomes tender.
Twee Bak or pork shoulder is slightly tougher (due to the high level of activity in the area) while retaining a high level of fat which makes it ideal for braising as it does not “dry out” like loin cuts when braised.
Ingredients
- 500g of pork belly
- 500g of twee bak (pork shoulder)
- 1 can of quails eggs (Dasoon brand)
- 2 packets of bean curd (Tau Kwa)
- 8 – 12 cloves of garlic (peeled and lightly crushed)
- 8 tbsp of dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp of Shaoxing wine
- 2 tbsp of crushed white peppercorn
- 2 tbsp of rock sugar
- 2 tsp of five-spice powder
- 2 tsp of oil
- 8 cups of water
Cooking Method
- Cut pork into large cubes, around 3cm by 3cm.
- In your braising pot, add in the oil and sear the pork on high heat.
- Reduce to low heat, add garlic and peppercorn and fry till fragrant without removing the pork.
- Add in water, both soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and five-spice powder.
- Bring to a boil at low-medium heat for 4 hours before adding in bean curd, rock sugar, and quails eggs.
- Braise for another 30 minutes before serving.
Alternatively, if you are using a thermal cooker like I am, here is what you need to do at Step 5.
Once the pot starts to boil, bring the heat to low, and cover the pot with its lid. After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and transfer the inner pot to the thermal cooker and let it sit for at least 4 hours.
After 4 hours, bring it to a boil again before adding in the bean curd, rock sugar, and quail eggs. After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and transfer the inner pot to the thermal cooker again and let it sit for another 4 hours before serving.
Pro Tip:
If the dish is not spicy or sweet enough, you can adjust it by using garlic powder or rock sugar in small amounts. Do allow it to boil for at least 5 minutes before making the next round of adjustments.
— Terrence Quah