Babi Chin (Fragrant Nyonya Pork)

It’s Thursday today and that means an early finish at school for my girls. I’m glad I got tonight’s dinner out of the way, mainly because I want to do some ‘potato couchin’ and watch the final episode of a Korean soap I’ve been following. What’s more, it’s a humid 31 degrees Celsius today and I don’t take the heat very well. It’s best to do a quick number while its still cool.

I got a slab of belly pork out of the freezer this morning, which means 'Babi Chin' (Fragrant Nyonya Pork) was going to be the main fare for tonight's dinner. I cook this dish when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to fuss about too much in the kitchen but that's not the best thing about it, the best thing is, it's absolutely delicious and the kids cannot resist digging into it way before dinner!

Being a first timer on the blogging scene, I would be thrilled to receive any feedback after you’ve tried this recipe.

Babi Chin
(Fragrant Nyonya pork)

You will need…

. 1kg skinniest belly pork you can find

. 1½ cups thinly sliced shallots

. 6 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

. 4 star anise

. 2 tbsps. Coriander powder

. 1½ tbsps. Knorr chicken powder

. 2tsps. Sugar

. ½ tsp. white pepper

. 1½tbsps. dark soy sauce

. 1½ tbsps. Soy caramel

. enough hot water to just cover the pork

. 3 tbsps. Vegetable oil

Let’s start!

Cut up the belly pork into bite size chunks, leaving the rind on. Heat a medium sized pot on the fire then drizzle in the oil. Add the sliced shallots and garlic and stir till fragrant. Now add the star anise and coriander powder and stir to combine. Continue to stir for about 20 seconds to release the flavours and aromas.

Add the belly pork chunks, stirring to avoid any sticking. Next, add in the chicken powder, sugar, white pepper, dark soy and caramel. Continue stirring to combine all the ingredients. Finally, pour in enough hot water to just cover the pork. Give the pot another quick stir, then bring to the boil.

Turn the flame down to low and simmer the pork, covered for about 2 1/4 hours till tender. After cooking, leave the pork to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours for the flavours to develop further. Reheat the pork before serving on a bed of steamed jasmine rice.