Taiwanese cuisine is quite eclectic with influences from all over China, especially from the Fujian province and Hakka people. Japanese is equally prominent as Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule for 50 years. One line of traditional Taiwanese cuisine is marked by a dark flavourful sauce/broth which can be a bit overwhelming on the palate at times, but the punch in flavour makes accompanying rice and noodles perfect. Pork stew is one such dish and certainly a go-to dish for many home cooks (like most stews) as it is cooked in a single pot, can be stored for many days, and can be used in multiple ways.
Recently, completely under severe attack by the myriad pollens in the area, I thought of my mom's pork stew. It is essentially pork, carrots, and, at times, hard-boiled eggs, but the rich salty, sweetness (especially the carrots) beckoned (probably because it'd match wonderfully with the light vegetable soup that I was having). It was never one of my all-time favourites, but I loved indulging in the rich sauce over the plain rice, and, of course, plucking out the salty, sweet, and extremely soft carrots. Please don't be mistaken though, salty and sweet do not mark the whole dish; the soy sauce and pork contribute significantly to the flavour of the stew.
My mom's recipe begins with ginger, garlic, and green onion (the "mirepoix" of Chinese cooking), which provides a stronger edge in the resulting flavour. She also uses pork belly as the fat preserves the moisture of the meat as well as instills richness to the stew. I've developed a slight variation by eliminating the ginger, garlic, and green onion to provide a milder, more rounded flavour, as well as adding tomato to increase the natural sweetness. As pork belly is too fatty for my liking, I opted for the meaty part of pork ribs, which still contains some fat distributed within the meat as well as around, but much less. Some fat is crucial to the stew, but one can always trim off the majority before stewing, and then skimming the solidified fat after stewing and refrigerating. Regardless of the version, the pork stew goes wonderfully with rice, noodles, or anything plain.
Taiwanese Pork Stew (Mom's style)
- 1-2 slices ginger
- 1 stalk of green onion (lower half only, cut into 2-3 segments)
- 1-2 cloves garlic (whole or roughly sliced)
- 400g pork meat (diced into even chunks)
- 2 tbsp soya sauce (can be altered to taste*)
- 2 tsp brown sugar (can be altered to taste)
- Beer (or water)
- 2-3 stalks of carrots (de-skinned and evenly diced)
- Heat oil (medium high) and add the ginger, green onion, and garlic. Sauté until golden. Remove pot from heat and add the soya sauce and brown sugar. Roughly stir to mix the the soya sauce and sugar. Add the pork meat chunks and return pot to heat source.
- Leave meat untouched for 3-5 minutes to allow for browning. The pot can be gently covered to contain some of the oil splatters. Rotate the meat to continue browning. Repeat the process for 10-15 minutes. (Full browning is not required, but some caramelisation of the meat surface as well as the brown sugar is critical to the stew flavour. Just make sure not to burn either the meat or the sugar.)
- Add enough beer (or water) to barely cover the meat. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat (to maintain a slight slimmer).
- Add the diced carrots and cover pot with a slight gap. Simmer for at least 1-1.5 hrs.
- Refrigerate at least overnight to enhance flavour.
My variation
- 1 whole medium tomato (even sliced)
- 400g pork meat (diced into even chunks)
- 2 tbsp soya sauce (can be altered to taste*)
- 2 tsp brown sugar (can be altered to taste)
- Water
- 2-3 stalks of carrots (de-skinned and evenly diced)
- Heat oil (medium high) and add the pork meat chunks to brown. Add the soya sauce and sugar. Leave untouched for 3-5 minutes, or until one side is browned. The pot can be gently covered to contain some of the oil splatters.
- Rotate the meat to continue browning. Repeat the process for 10-15 minutes. (Full browning is not required, but some caramelisation of the meat surface as well as the sugar is critical to the stew flavour. Just make sure not to burn either the meat or the sugar.).
- Add enough water to barely cover the meat. Add the tomatoes and carrots. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat (to maintain a slight slimmer). Simmer for at least 1-1.5 hrs.
- Refrigerate at least overnight to enhance flavour.
*Note: 2 tbsp soya sauce will result in a stew that's on the salty side. It is meant to be eaten with something plain, rather than alone. The amount can be reduced, but only slightly. Too little (i.e. less than 1 tbsp) results in a less full-bodied stew flavour.
-Variation: Eggs, pre-boiled and de-shelled, can be added to the stew as well. The egg whites absorb the stew flavour, which makes for a nice change to the usual hard-boiled eggs. They can be eaten as is, with rice or noodles, or even in sandwiches.
