Hakka Pork Belly with Taro (芋頭扣肉)

This recipe for Hakka Pork Belly with Taro (芋頭扣肉) is a traditional comforting Chinese Hakka dish, featuring the savory, umami flavors of deep-fried pork belly layered with slices of taro.

Who are the Hakka?

The Hakka people are a Chinese subgroup (of which I am!)

Unlike other Chinese ethnic groups, Hakka (which means "guest family") are not designated or belonging to a certain region in China.

The origins of the Hakka Chinese are believed to be refugees fleeing social unrest from northern China. 

Hakka are known for their use of salty, braised meats, tofu, and preserved vegetables, and include dishes such as stuffed tofu (yong tau fu) 釀豆腐, and thunder tea (lei cha) 擂茶. 

What is taro root?

Taro is a starchy root vegetable that is used in many cuisines. 

The interior is light beige in color with purple flecks.

The exterior peel is tough, brown and has a rough texture.

What does taro taste like?

Taro has similarities to starchy root vegetables like sweet potato/yam 番薯, and has a slightly sweet and nutty taste.

It is versatile and used in sweet or savory dishes, including taro puff dumplings (wu gok) 芋角, taro paste 芋頭泥, steamed taro cake 芋頭糕, steamed taro buns 芋頭包, taro ice cream 芋頭雪糕, or taro coconut sago dessert soup 芋頭西米露.

How to choose taro?

Choose fresh taro that feels firm and light in size, with no soft, mushy, black spots on the exterior skin.

Avoid any signs of mold or discoloration on the skin.

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe for Hakka Pork Belly with Taro (Kau Yuk 扣肉) is:

Worth the effort: this dish does take quite a bit of time, so prepare accordingly -- but the result is delicious, sumptuous and comforting.

Not overly salty: traditionally, kau yuk (扣肉) is very salty and savory with the addition preserved mustard greens. 

A great celebratory dish: similar to Chinese braised pork belly (dong po rou), kau yuk commonly prepared for Chinese New Year. Invite your whole family, otherwise you will have leftovers for days.

Special equipment you'll need

• large pot or wok
• turkey fryer (if you have one): for deep frying the pork belly
• sharp skewers (preferably metal) or meat tenderizer/pricker: for pricking the pork belly skin

Ingredients you'll need

Marinade:

• preserved red bean curd: crushed, also known as nam yui (醃製紅豆腐)
• rose wine (Mei Kuei Lo Chiu) (玫瑰露酒): you can substitute with dry sherry
• granulated sugar (砂糖)
• Chinese five-spice powder (五香粉)
• sea salt (鹽)
• black pepper (黑胡椒)
• shallot: chopped (小蔥); you can sub with small white onion
• garlic: chopped (蒜)

Pork belly:

• pork belly (豬腩肉)
• water (水)
• star anise (八角)
• ginger (薑)
• green onion (蔥)
• dark soy sauce (老抽)

Taro:

• taro: peeled, cut into 1 cm thick pieces (芋頭)
• dark soy sauce (老抽)
• pork broth (reserved from boiling pork belly) (豬肉湯)

Thickened sauce:

• potato starch (土豆淀粉): or cornstarch (鷹粟粉)
• water (水)

How to make Hakka-style pork belly

Make the marinade

In a bowl, combine red bean curd, rose wine, sugar, 5-spice powder, salt, black pepper, shallot and garlic.

Mix well and set aside.

Prepare the pork belly

Wash and scrape the pork belly skin under running water.

To a large pot, add in water, star anise, ginger and green onion. 

Bring liquid up to a boil and add in the pork belly, skin-side down.

Boil the pork belly for 45 minutes, until cooked.

Once the pork belly is cooked, remove pork belly from the liquid (reserve for later) and place onto a large plate.

Blot the skin dry with paper towel. 

Evenly coat the surface of the pork belly skin with dark soy sauce while still hot.

Perforate the surface of the pork belly skin with a bunch of sharp skewers.

Let the pork belly sit for 30 minutes.

Deep-fry the pork belly

Fill a large wok or pot with peanut oil and heat over high heat.

Carefully deep-fry the pork belly with the skin-side down until golden brown.

Be very careful! The oil will splatter and explode. Tip: use a wok lid as a shield and cover right after sliding the pork belly into the oil. Once there is not much exploding sounds, lift the lid ajar a little to let the steam escape.

Remove the pork belly from the oil and submerge in a basin of cold running tap water for 1 hour to remove excess grease.

Deep-fry the taro

In the meantime, deep fry the taro pieces until light yellow in color, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the oil and drain on paper towel.

Assemble

Cut the pork belly into 1cm thick slices.

Place the pork belly and taro slices in a large bowl.

Add the marinade ingredients to the bowl and mix well.

Arrange the pork belly and taro slices alternately (pork belly skin-side down) in casserole dish or loaf pan. 

Add ¼ C of water or pork broth over the pork belly and taro.

Steam on high heat for 90 minutes, making sure to refill the steaming water when necessary.

Remove the dish from the steamer and carefully drain out any residual sauce into a small saucepan.

Carefully invert the entire dish over onto a serving platter.

Make the thickened sauce

Into the small saucepan, add enough pork broth (or water) to top off the reserved sauce to about ¾ C total.

Stir in cornstarch to make a slurry and bring to a boil.

Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat and add in 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.

Pour the thickened sauce over the pork belly and taro.

How to serve

Pair a piece of taro with pork belly and serve with steamed rice, alongside other celebratory Chinese New Year dishes such as Lion's head meatballs, blanched yu choy sum, steamed fish, and dumplings.

How to store

Fridge:

Store the kau yuk in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Freezer:

Freeze the pork belly and taro in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

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