Braised soya sauce pork belly has a very aromatic sweet taste and the pork belly melts in your mouth like jelly. It is popularly known locally in Malaysia by the Hokkien community as Tau Yu Bak. There are many versions of Tau Yu Bak recipe based on ethnic influence. My version is a very simple one with only one added spice which is star anise. Other recipes call for cinnamon, cloves, sichuan pepper and etc. You can add all those spices if you like as well.
This is a super easy recipe. Just place everything in a pot and simmer for 1 and a half hours until the pork belly is tender and jelly like. Other recipes will recommend to fry the ingredients first before simmering. It might taste better but if you are the type that don’t like to do much and still love a good comfort meal, then you will definitely love this recipe. Not much effort but yet a delicious meal.
| Prep time | Cooking time | Total time | Serves |
| 10 min | 1 hr 30 min | 1 hr 40 min | 5-6 person |
Ingredients:
- 1 kg pork belly 五花肉 1公斤
- 6 cloves of garlic 大蒜 6瓣
- 1 star anise 八角 1粒
- 3 tablespoons of light soya sauce 生抽 3汤匙
- 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce 老抽 2汤匙
- 1 tablespoon of sugar 糖 1汤匙
- 3 hard boil eggs (optional ) 水煮蛋 3粒
- Water 1200 ml 水 1200 毫升
- Salt to taste 盐 少许
- Cornstarch solution (1 tbsp + 30 ml water) 玉米淀粉水 (玉米淀粉 3茶匙 + 水 30毫升 ）
Method:
- Cut prewashed pork belly into a large cubes or thick slices
- Add pork belly , garlic, star anise, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, sugar and water into a pot
- Bring to boil. Then simmer for 1 hr and 30 minutes or until pork belly is tender like jelly.
- Add salt and cornstarch solution and hard boiled eggs.
- Continue cooking until sauce consistency is to your liking. Serve
Full recipe video for Braised Soya Sauce Pork Belly, Tau Yu Bak “豆油肉”: