Are you a pork belly lover or an adventurous eater?  If yes, look no further. This pork belly and shitake mushroom braised in spices and Indonesian kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) is as flavorful as a dish can get, yet easy enough to make in your own kitchen.

MOM, THE CLOSET COOK

Growing up, I rarely saw my mom work in the kitchen.  We relied on a family cook who prepared most of our meals.

On rare occasions, I remember my mother would make Dutch-Indo or pork dishes such as pastel panggang (potato casserole with ground beef, similar to shepherd’s pie), macaroni panggang (baked mac and cheese), split pea soup with pork feet and galantin (concoction of ground pork, liver pate, smoked ham, shaped into a log and steamed).

It wasn’t until I moved to the States that I discovered mom was actually an excellent cook.  To my surprise (sorry ma), she could literally whip up any Indo-food we craved during her extended visit.

I remember coming home from a long day at work, finding dad frying up egg foo young under mom’s supervision while she prepared sweet and sour sauce from scratch.  It was a memorable scene watching the controlled chaos unfold.

And I’m telling you my parents make the best egg foo young (my ex-coworkers can vouch for this) and will be posted once I decipher and share her recipe.

Another one of her favorite recipes to prepare was babi kecap.  She still comments how we have a beautiful selection of pork in the U.S., and to be honest, we are all suckers for pork belly, including my two girls.

HOW DO WE EAT PORK WHILE LIVING IN THE MOST POPULOUS MOSLEM COUNTRY IN THE WORLD?

Since our cook was Moslem, all dishes prepared at home were local Indonesian and always halal, but don’t get me wrong, we ate our fair share of pork when we went out to eat.  It didn’t matter whether it was sate babi kecap pecenongan, a dusty street food stall specialized in pork satay served with a side of sour mustard soup, or a Hong Kong-style barbecue joint that offered a variety of Chinese barbecue pork, roast pork, and roast duck.

Additionally, mom would take advantage of the time our cooks and maids were gone (to visit friends and family) to cook pork dishes (pulang ngudik) during Idul Fitri which is one of the most celebrated Moslem holidays.

ABOUT PORK BELLY

Pork Belly is considered a delicacy in a lot of countries, but it has been slow to catch on in America (except for smoked bacon). In the last few years pork belly has slowly gained popularity and now finds itself on the menu of many restaurants.

I think it’s time the American appreciate pork belly since this cut of pork makes the most succulent, juicy, and flavorful dish.  When roasted, grilled, or broiled the fat and/or skin turns crispy, creating a contrast in textures.  How could that be wrong?

Some of the more popular preparations are:

• Braised in seasoned liquid at low heat until tender and all of the flavor have been absorbed.
• Roasted/Grilled – this preparation results in a crunchy texture on the fat or skin.

Other region’s notable pork belly dish:

• Chinese braised pork belly and roast pork
• Filipino lechon kawali – deep-fried seasoned pork belly
• Korean kimchee jjigae – pork belly sautéed with kimchee and tofu.
• German schlachteplatte – a hearty dish consisting of boiled pork belly and freshly cook sausages. Additionally, one of my old bosses who is a fan of pork belly always brought back a big chunk of fried pork skin/fat from her trip to our satellite office in Munich, Germany.
• Our local Salt & Straw ice cream shop includes a memorable “peanut butter stout with chocolate chicarron” as one of its classic flavors.

CHEF NOTES

• Make a big batch, enough for leftovers.  This is one dish that gets better with age.
• Adding ebi (dried shrimp) and fish sauce gives this dish an added flavor dimension, but you can opt out ebi as well.
• Cooking the meat in low heat uncovered for at least an hour will ensure the meat is tender and the rich flavor is absorbed.  When trimming the meat remember that the smaller the piece, the faster it takes to cook.
• The recipe calls for approximately 3 pounds of pork belly, but you can definitely half the recipe.
• Besides eating them with steamed/sticky rice, this dish can be served over noodle soup or in between a sliced Vietnamese French baguette as banh mi.  Throw it in a broiler to crisp up the fat/skin, then place a couple of pieces inside a steamed Chinese bun as pork belly bao, or serve with lettuce leaves on the side to make lettuce wraps. This is a versatile dish that can be played up or down.
• If you don’t have a large pan, brown the meat in 2 batches.

Yield: 10

Babi Kecap Recipe (Indonesian Braised Pork Belly)

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Are you a pork belly lover or an adventurous eater? If yes, look no further. This pork belly and shitake mushroom braised in spices and Indonesian kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) is as flavorful as a dish can get, yet easy enough to make in your own kitchen.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 to 3 1/2 lbs pork belly (with or without skin)
• 2 tbs ebi (dried shrimp), soaked in water for 10 minutes until plumped, then minced
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1” peeled ginger, julienne
• 2 red jalapenos (available in Asian grocery stores), thinly sliced
• 3-4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 c shitake mushrooms, cut into quarter
• 3 tbs fish sauce
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 6 tbs kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
• 1 c water or broth
• 1 tsp white pepper
• Oil for sauteeing

Instructions

Cooking

1. In a large skillet or wok, pour 2 tbs of oil over medium high. Once hot, add garlic and shallot and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Add ebi, ginger, jalapeno. Stir and cook for another minute.
3. Add pork belly and cook for about 8 minutes until brown.
4. Add mushroom, broth, fish sauce, soy sauce, kecap manis and white pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour until meat is tender and liquid has thickened and reduced by ½.
6. Sprinkle chopped green onion.

Serving

1. Serve immediately with a side of steamed rice and sliced cucumber.
2. Acar (Indonesian pickle) pairs well with this dish

CONCLUSION

I hope I’ve convinced you to give pork belly and this recipe a try.  The dish is full of flavor, yet easy to make and the combination of tender meat and melt-in-your-mouth fat is just damn delicious!

Even better, you can make a big batch and refrigerate any leftovers for the next several days.

If you are concerned about eating fatty meat, my advice is to consume in moderation and to include plenty of vegetables with the meal.  You probably don’t need to eat ½ of a pound of pork belly in one sitting, although my oldest can eat almost a pound if she’s allowed (that’s right, I’ve raised 2 girls that love this cut of meat, while their father never learned to appreciate it…too much fat he would say, but then he would gobble down ½ of a dozen donuts). Ironic right?