Babi Pongteh

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 kg pork trotters

  Ideally with some fat and skin. front leg meat or just use pork belly
• 6-8 dried Chinese mushrooms
• 5-6 tbsp cooking oil
• 8 cups water

  including mushroom soaked water
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fermented soy bean

  Taucheo
• 20 g palm sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves garlic

  peeled and minced
• 5 cloves garlic whole

  wash and keep as whole
• 8 shallots
• 8 tofu puffs

  optional
• 1 cup black fungus

  optional
• Salt

  season to taste
• 1 cup bamboo shoots

  optional

Instructions

• 1 Rinse 1 kg pork trotters , pat dry and cut into smaller chunks, about 2-4cm (if
  it's not already cut by the butcher).
  
  Note: The meat can be washed just before you are about to cook it.
• 2 Soak 6-8 dried Chinese mushrooms in warm water for about 30 minutes or until the
  mushrooms are softened.
  
  Once softened, cut off stem, squeeze out excess water, and set aside.
  
  Keep the mushroom soaked water for the stew later.
• 3 Peel and mince 8 shallots and 5 cloves garlic . Use a food processor to blend
  the shallots and garlic into a paste.
  
  Note: You can also use a mortar and pestle to pound into a paste manually.
• 4 Mash 2 tbsp fermented soy bean (taucheo) until it turns into a paste. You can
  also use a mortar and pestle to pound into a paste manually.
• 5 Wash 8 tofu puffs, squeeze out excess water and cut into bite-sized chunks.
  
  Note: You may not find this in the true blue peranakan recipe of Babi Pongteh
  but my family loves soaking up the sauce with tofu puffs so I'm adding it in
  this rendition. It's totally up to you.
• 6 Heat 5-6 tbsp cooking oil in a deep pot over medium heat.
  
  Add the shallots and garlic paste, and 1 cinnamon stick and fry the mixture
  until the aroma is released.
• 7 Add the mashed tau cheo (fermented soy bean) and stir fry with the mixture for
  about a minute.
• 8 Add 2 tbsp dark soy sauce and 20 g palm sugar and stir fry with the mixture for
  about 30-45 seconds.
• 9 Add the pork pieces and stir fry to coat the meat with the sauce evenly.
• 10 Add the mushrooms and mix well.
• 11 Add 2-3 cups of water (including the mushroom soaked water) and mix the water
  well with the sauce. Then add the 5 cloves garlic whole, and gradually add more
  water enough to cover the meat and mushrooms. I added a total of 8 cups water in
  this recipe. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer for 1.5 to 2
  hours or until the meat softened according to your liking.
• 12 Add tofu puffs in the last 30 minutes of cooking and let it simmer and
  completely soaked in the gravy.
  
  Feel free to add more water if you want the Babi Pongteh to have more sauce or
  let the sauce reduced to the thick consistency you want.
  
  Add Salt and season according to your taste preference.
  
  Note: optional to add 1 cup black fungus or 1 cup bamboo shoots.
• 13 Best served the day after. You can leave it at the stove and reheat the next
  day.
  
  Serve hot with rice and sambal chilli. Enjoy!

Nutrition Info