kongbak – braised belly pork

i did kongbak (braised belly pork) & taupok for teban gardens community breakfast this morning on 17.2.2017. ^^

this my 29th friday breakfast community meal at teban gardens community service centre.

i first started doing a community meal dish for teban gardens CSC on 8.1.2016.

the centre was started in 2002 after much effort & challenge by our RI friend who is a pastor of pasir panjang hill brethren church (pphbc) which owns & runs the CSC.

Ros’ lontong

today the centre director, Ros, herself a marvellous cook, did a huge pot of lontong.

the kueh tupat & the ikan bilis chilli were supplied by another lady. Ros made the lontong gravy & sayur & tofu.

Ros’ lontong

it was excellent!

i try not to take breakfast & lunch if i can (unless there is lunch get togethers). today die die must take la…

Ros’ lontong

sayur & tofu just nice, and gravy was quite perfect. not east to make such a huge dish for so many people. banyak bagus!

kongbak – braised belly pork & taupok

i did my simple kongbak (braised belly pork) recipe, just adjust for the size of serving.

Tai Hua chicken marinate (大华鲁鸡汁)

using ready-made tai hua chicken marinade(大华鲁鸡汁) = kongbak made easy la!

kongbak – braised belly pork

today i was doing about 1.5kg belly pork.

so i used about 160ml (2/3 cup) of the tai hua chicken marinade(大华鲁鸡汁).

kongbak – braised belly pork

the recipe-

1. fry 1.5 bulbs of garlic cloves, 2 cinnamon bark, 4 star anise, & 3 cloves in 1 tbsp oil till fragrant ie nice aroma.
2. after washing with salt, scalding with boiling water to clean the pork, coat the pork with 2 tbsp sugar, place the pork in the wokpan, add tai hua braising sauce & let it coat the pork well on all sides for about 10mins. then add 2/3 cup water & cover.
3. so basically to infuse the pork with the braising sauce & to steam & cook the pork with cover on. for 2 hrs. watch over & add water as required. the key is to keep the sauce thick & flavour intense not diluting too much.

kongbak – braised belly pork

basically i tried the pork (use kitchen scissors to cut a bit to try) to my satisfaction in terms of texture – about 1.5hrs to 2hrs.

kongbak – braised belly pork

pork was excellent. all the teban gardens staff & several residents commented very tender & flavourful.

kongbak – braised belly pork

texture was gelatinous for the fat & skin & soft & tender for the lean meat.

braised taupok

i added 2packets x 10 taupok (cut into 4 strips per taupok=80 pieces) to fully utilise the braising sauce.

kongbak – braised belly pork & taupok

i added the taupok, and added water & covered & cooked about about 40mins. the taupok was tasty & well infused with the very “pang” sauce.

easy to do & a great, enjoyable dish for teban gardens folks! ^^

c.h.e.f andy