Monday, January 15, 2007

Assam Babi ~ Tamarind Braised Pork

Assam Babi, a peranakan classic with that wonderful combination of flavour and fragrance that will whet your appetite.

Assam Babi
Ingredients
2½ Tbsp tamarind paste
1-1½ cup water
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp, soy bean paste (tau cheong), mashed
600g pork belly or shoulder chop, cubed
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 Tbsp palm sugar
salt to taste


Spice Paste (grind together)
4 medium red onions
4 candlenuts (buah keras)
3 Tbsp chopped galangal
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp tumeric powder or 1 thumb-size fresh tumeric
1 Tbsp chopped ginger
2 dried chilies
1 tsp Baba chilli powder or 4 fresh red chilies
1 tsp belacan

Method
1. Knead tamarind with water, strain and set aside.

2. Heat oil in wok and fry paste over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until paste is fragrant and volume has reduced by about 1/3.

3. Add tau cheong and fry for 1 minute, then add pork, lemongrass and tamarind liquid. Stir well.

4. Simmer for 1 hour, partially covered or until pork is tender and gravy has thickened.

5. Stir in palm sugar and salt to taste.

6. Serve hot with rice.

Tamarind Braised Pork
Recipe : Shiok Exciting Tropical Asian Flavors by Terry & Christopher Tan (adapted)

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, can I use skinless pork shoulder for this dish? (The butcher said it was for char siew, it has very little fat in it.) Thanks.

Sinner said...

Skinless is fine. Much healthier.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I cooked this dish the other day but I omitted the chillies so the children can eat it. It was good. It tastes better after 'resting'. I served it more than 2 hours after cooking it.

Sinner said...

Hi KY,

Glad you liked the assam pork. If you can quietly 'hide' some in the freezer for a next meal, it will taste even better ;)

Thanks for the feedback.

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