Kau Yuk is a Hakka dish of triple cooked pork belly. It’s a complex dish to make but luckily I know Kimleng Kittikhoun who cooks this for festive occasions. Thomas documented the entire cooking method which follows below.
This recipe will make 2 large bowls, or enough for 6 people. Scale up the recipe as desired. This batch was made with 9kg of pork belly!
Boil 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of pork belly and 250g (8¾ oz) of pork liver for 40 minutes.Pat dry and allow to cool, then prick the pork skin evenly all over with a fork. Pierce into the first layer of fat, but not all the way through to the meat.
While the pork is boiling, peel 500g (1.1 lb) of taro and cut into strips approximately 8cm (3″) long, 4cm (1½”) wide and 0.5cm (less than ¼”) thick. Deep fry the taro until golden brown and set aside. After frying the taro strain the oil to remove impurities. Soak 15g (½ oz) of dried mandarin peel in hot water and when softened, remove the pith and chop finely. Cut and crush 50g (1¾ oz) of fresh ginger and leave it to soak in ¼ of a cup of whiskey.
Once the pork belly has cooled and is dry, mix some honey and hot water and lightly brush onto the skin. This will improve the final colour of the skin. Deep fry the pork belly until dark brown. Fry the meat side first, before the skin. Approximately 10 minutes. CAUTION! The pork belly will splatter hot oil while it fries. Prepare a splatter guard and wear appropriate clothing while frying.
When the pork is done, soak it in cool water for 10 minutes – this will improve the texture and aid with slicing. Fry the liver for approximately 20 mins until dark brown and well cooked. Soak in cool water once fried. Discard the oil after frying the liver. Once the pork has cooled in the water, you can start to slice it into pockets: Remove any bones keeping as much of the meat intact as possible.
Place the pork belly skin side down on the chopping board and start cutting it into pockets: Make the first cut down to the skin without cutting through, then make a second cut to remove the pocket from the rest of the belly. Each pocket should be approximately 2cm (¾’) thick and 6-7cm (2¾’) long. Chop any remaining pork belly with bones into chunks using a cleaver. Remove and discard the tough skin of the liver and slice into very thin strips approximately the same length as the pork belly pockets. In a large bowl mash 150g (5¼ oz) of fermented red bean curd to a smooth consistency.
Add the pork belly, liver, prepared mandarin peel, ginger infused whiskey (discard the ginger), 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of MSG. Mix thoroughly (wearing gloves to avoid messy hands) until well coated. Check seasoning and adjust to taste.
Arrange into bowls for steaming by filling each pocket of pork with a piece of taro and a piece of liver and placing it skin side down in the bowl.
Once all of the pork pockets have been filled and arranged in the bowls, distribute the remaining pork chunks, liver and taro evenly on top of the bowls. Clean the edges and outside of the bowls.
At this stage you can cover the bowls and they can be refrigerated or frozen until needed
.When you’re ready to cook, steam the bowls for 2½ hours. To serve, turn the pork out onto a plate with the skin side up (see first image).
michelle picker cooks 