Braised Boey Chai with Pork Belly – a homey dish of melt-in-the-mouth preserved mustard. Delicious with steamed rice or congee.
Braised Boey Chai with Pork Belly is a Teochew (Chaozhou) homey sweet salty dish usually served with plain congee or steamed rice. This dish often tastes better the next day after it has been repeatedly cooked or reheated. Teochew restaurants often have theirs continually cooked on the stove until the preserved mustard achieve an almost melt-in-the-mouth consistency.
Braised Boey Chai with Pork Belly is especially delicious served with plain congee or rice porridge. It is also very tasty served with steamed rice. The star of this dish is the preserved mustard and there are two types to choose from – sweet/salty and just plain salty. You can find both varieties at the Asian grocery stores here and they are clearly labeled as such.
Preserved mustard must be soaked to soften and thoroughly washed to get rid of grit. Soaking also reduces the saltiness of the vegetables.
My mom likes to combine the two types of preserved mustard to produce a sweet salty dish that is truly appetizing and delicious. I like to do the same and would not cook it any other way.
Braised Boey Chai with Pork Belly - a homey dish of melt-in-the-mouth preserved mustard. Delicious with steamed rice or congee.
- 1 packet sweet/salty mustard (13 oz/375g)
- 1 packet salty mustard (7oz/200g)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 lb pork belly or boneless pork ribs, cut into 1 inch cubes (450g)
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 cups water (480ml)
- 1 tbsp sugar
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Rinse and soak both kinds of preserved mustard for about an hour. When softened, thoroughly rinse mustard under running water to get rid of grit. Drain and cut into ¼ inch strips cross-wise.
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In a large pot heat sesame oil. Sauté garlic until softened, about 10 seconds. Add pork and pepper. Allow the meat to brown. This should take 4 to 5 minutes.
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Add sliced preserved mustard followed by dark soy sauce. Stir to get ingredients well mixed.
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Pour in water. Bring it to a boil.
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Add sugar, reduce heat and allow it to simmer on low for about 2 hours.
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You may need to add another ½ cup (120ml) water if it appears to dry up during cooking.
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When done, turn off heat. Serve with steamed rice or congee.
This sweet salty Braised Boey Chai with Pork Belly goes really well with plain congee as the bland congee complements the salty preserve mustard.
Both mom and I enjoy this dish very much. She will cook it for me whenever I visit. The picture below was taken at her home during my Jun 2012 Visit to Malaysia.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
My mum is a Teochew so this dish is not a stranger to me at all. Whenever I cooked plain congee this boey chai pork is a must. Most of the time I used minced pork instead of pork belly. Thanks for tempting me with this dish 😉
This dish is just the best with plain congee or even steamed rice. I don’t need any other dishes when I cook this. 🙂
Hmmm, I have been waiting patiently for this recipe, Biren! Thank you so much. I shall be cooking this dish this weekend to eat with my plain congee, together with the salted duck eggs which I had made sucessfully from following your recipe in your blog. I am sure the dish will turn out great, as always without fail!
Sorry the recipe took so long to be posted, my friend. Sounds like you are going to have a very satisfying meal this weekend. Both this and the salted eggs are delicious with congee. I am also thinking of salting some eggs soon.
Many thanks for your confidence in my recipes. I am glad to hear they turn out well for you. 🙂
Looks like a great dish… would love to try this. 🙂
Thanks Ramona! 🙂