Starring Coconut Juice

      Lan Jie, who is my school librarian, shares my passion for trying out new recipes. We often exchange recipe books, and I especially love those bilingual monthly cookbooks like Oriental Cuisine, Y3K Recipes and Yum Yum. In the May 2018 Oriental Cuisine publication, one particular recipe called out to me.
        The Braised Pork Belly with Lotus Root in Coconut Juice heated up the cooking fire in me as I was still salivating over the coconut pork tripe stew chicken soup steamboat that I enjoyed with my colleagues recently. http://irenechanal.blogspot.com/2018/06/cementing-friendship-over-dinner.html
        I just had to try out this interesting recipe. Even as the pork belly was simmering with the lotus root in the coconut juice, excitement bubbled in me. I took a taste and the sweetness of the gravy swept me away. Yum!
 

Braised Pork Belly with Lotus Root in Coconut Juice

      

Ingredients :
500g pork belly (sliced)
1 block lotus root (cut into small chunks)
2 young coconut juice
2 knobs ginger (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
1 small block red fermented bean curd (nam yue)

Marinade :
1/2 teaspoon cornflour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon Bentong ginger powder
1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/3 teaspoon dark soya sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil

Seasoning :
1 tablespoon soya sauce
dash of pepper

Method :
1.   Marinade the pork belly for an hour.
2.   Heat oil in wok, saute ginger and garlic.
3.   Add red fermented bean curd and saute till fragrant.
4.   Toss in pork belly, fry until golden brown, and dish out.
5.   Swirl in a little oil, add lotus root into wok, and stir-fry
      briefly.
6.   Pour in coconut juice, bring to boil, cover with lid and
      simmer in low heat for about 25 minutes.
7.   Return pork belly into wok and continue to simmer for 40 
      minutes.
8.   Add seasoning and adjust taste.
9.   Serve hot.

        The original recipe requires dried squid and cinnamon to be fried with the ginger. But I omitted them as hubby is not partial to them. Also, the pork belly is to be braised with lotus root, pieces of arrowroot and wedges of carrot. Again, I tweaked the recipe by focusing solely on lotus root.
        Hubby's verdict? "Delicious! Unbelievably sweet! Did you add rice wine to it?" There was no rice wine added, but hubby was right. The dish was so fragrant that it did appear to have a tinge of rice wine. The coconut juice, undoubtedly, had made all the difference and was the star of the dish!