Umami, considered the 5th of the basic tastes, is savory; the others are sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Umami, in a way, can be considered a complex combination of the 4 basic tastes that yields a flavour all on its own. The subtle hints of each taste are certainly true in this recipe. The sauces used to season and marinate the meat combines with the natural flavour of the pork and offers up a most delicious bite with each piece of the meat that you eat.
To make this dish marinate the meat and let it stand at room temperature for ½ hour. If you want to marinate it longer,
put it in the refrigerator but bring it up to room temperature before cooking. Overnight marinating works too.
Special equipment
Pressure cooker or a heavy bottomed pot/pan with a tight lid.
Suggested serving
The meat for this recipe is cut into chunks and can therefore be used as cutters, sandwich filler, wraps filler or be served over cooked rice or buttered noodles along with hot pepper sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, pork flap or pork belly
- 1/3 cup regular soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
- 1 heaped tablespoon Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar (substitute with balsamic vinegar, malt vinegar or dry sherry)
- Hot pepper sauce, to taste
- Salt (taste the marinade before adding salt as it may not be necessary)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¾ cup hot water if using a pressure cooker (2 cups water if using a regular pot/pan)
Directions
- Cut the meat into 1 ½ – 2 inch pieces.
- Whisk together the regular soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, vinegar and pepper sauce. Taste the marinade; if it needs salt add a little to suit your taste. If you would like the pork a little sweeter, add a little more of the sweet soy sauce.
- Pour the marinade over the meat and toss to ensure that the meat is coated with the sauce. Cover and set aside to marinate for ½ hour at room temperature.
- Add oil to pressure cooker and place on medium heat. When oil is hot, add the meat and the juices of the marinade and spread in an even layer. Let it cook for 2 – 3 minutes then give it a good turn and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Pour in the hot water. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden or hard plastic spoon to release any stuck on bits.
- Cover the cooker and let it come up to pressure. At the first whistle, reduce the heat to low and cook for 22 – 25 minutes.
- When the time is up, shut off the heat and release the pressure to open the cooker. If there is any liquid other than oil in the pot, return it to the stove on medium high heat and let cook until the liquid has dried out.
- Serve the meat garnished with thinly sliced green onions/scallions.
NOTES
- If you are not using a pressure cooker, add the 2 cups of water at direction # 5. Bring the pot to boil and then reduce the heat to low or very low and cook for 40 minutes or until the meat is tender.
- To serve the pork, you can opt to garnish with sesame seeds instead of green onions/scallions.
