Braised Pork Belly in Soy Sauce

This is a common braised dish in every family which also known as Loh Bak or Tau Yew Bak. A big pot of braised pork belly sure will please anyone even if they are fussy with food hehehe....Every family have their own ways of cooking this dish, some uses spices, some do not. I've tasted my mother (Teochew) and my mother-in-law (Cantonese) version of braised pork belly, each have their own different flavours. I've my own way of preparing this too ^0^ This is the first time I prepared this dish for my own kids! Hope they will grow up loving this dish like everyone else. 

Ingredient

• 500gm pork belly, cut into chunks
• 500gm pork leg (twee bak), cut into chunks
• 15 dried shiitake mushroom, softened
• 2 firm bean curd, tau gua, quartered
• 150gm fried bean puff, tau pok, blanched in boiling water
• 8 hardboiled eggs, peeled
• 2 whole bulbs garlic
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 1 black cardamon
• 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 6 cups water (I've substitute 1 cup water with chinese wine)
• salt & pepper to taste
• sesame oil
• 4 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Heat oil in a wok.  Lower heat and add in sugar and leave it to dissolve. Stir briefly until it turns golden brown. 
2. Turn on heat and add in pork belly/twee bak. Stir fry for 2 mins till meat is well evenly coated with caramelised sugar. Add in mushroom and mix evenly.
3. Add in garlic, spices, dark and light soy sauce and stir evenly. Add in water to submerge everything and bring to boil. Lower heat and cover wok with lid. Simmer for 1 hour. 
4. Add in tau gua, tau pok and hardboiled eggs and stir to mix. Add wine, salt & pepper to taste and simmer for another 30mins. 
5. Drizzle in sesame oil and turn off heat. Serve with rice.