Tau You Bak!

Say it in Hokkien ... 豆油肉！
Translated, it means ... Soy Sauce Pork!

What is so special about this dish, since it involves only soy sauce, pork and some other simple ingredients?

Each of us has a special dish in our heart ... a dish that reminds us of our mother, and our childhood. This is "The Dish" for hubby dear.

My mother-in-law used to make this dish very often for the family, when hubby dear was still a kid.

On this New Year's Day morning, while the meat stewed in the pot, the aroma from the kitchen brought warmth and sweet memories of his childhood, of the love a mother puts in cooking a dish for the family ....

Recipe from Lily's Blog.

1 lb Belly or shoulder pork

10 cloves Garlic, with skin on

1 Star Anise

1 tsp Crushed Peppercorns.

1.5 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

3 cups Water

• Wash the pork and cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Blanch the pork in boiling water.
• Rinse with cold water, set aside.
• Combine star anise, crushed peppercorns, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and water. Bring to a boil.
• Add in pork and let the pork simmer in the sauce for 10 minutes before adding the garlic cloves.
• Continue to simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce is thickened.
• Continue to simmer if you want the sauce to be thicker.
• Add salt to taste.
• Turn off heat and add the hard boiled eggs (shells removed) to the pot.
• This dish is best eaten the next day, to allow the flavors to develop.

Hubby dear cooked this dish in the morning, and we had this for dinner on New Year's Day evening. Eat your bowl of hot steaming rice, served with a generous spoonful of sauce from the dish ..... Mmmmmm .....

.. traveling thru' the time tunnel, back to Mom's little kitchen ..