Stir-fried Chai Poh with Pork Belly – Preserved radish (Chai Poh) is stir-fried with strips of pork belly that imparts amazing flavor to the final dish. Super easy to make and delicious. My favorite recipe from mom
Stir-fried Chai Poh with Pork Belly
Few days ago I was chatting with mom and it’s usually always about food ha! My mom loves to cook and I can see now where I get that from. All of the sudden I asked her if she remembered that she brought me this stir-fried chai poh with pork belly all the way from Indonesia when she came to visit me for the first time 7 years ago. She said yes and we both laughed.
I haven’t had it since! Mom just gave me her usual a pinch of this and that and that very same day I whipped this up effortlessly! It is a very easy dish!
STIR-FRIED CHAI POH WITH PORK BELLY
Stir-fried chai poh with pork belly is popular home-cooking at the little hometown where I grew up. It’s not something you see at the restaurant. Mom made it pretty often and my sister and I always loved it. I talked about chai poh (preserved turnip/radish) more in detail in this post.
WHAT MAKES STIR-FRIED CHAI POH WITH PORK BELLY SO GOOD?
Can we all just agree that anything with pork belly just pretty darn good? The fat renders out from the pork belly and so everything cooks in the fat. The crunchy texture of chai poh and the tender and flavorful pork belly make this dish a winner. The finished dish tastes sweet, spicy (if you use chili) with just hint of savory
HOW TO MAKE A GOOD STIR-FRIED CHAI POH WITH PORK BELLY IN A NUTSHELL
1. Always soak the chai poh briefly to get rid of extra saltiness
2. Season the chai poh with a bit of sugar
3. Cook the pork belly first. Let the fat render out from pork belly while cooking
4. Add aromatics, chai poh, and seasoning
Even my kids who has never been exposed to chai poh before in their lives until I made this and chai poh withomelette, like them, and I’m so glad they do.
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Stir-fried Chai Poh with Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 150 gr sweet chai poh (preserved turnip)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 120 gr pork belly cut into thin strips
- 4-5 mixture of red and green Thai chilis / bird's eye chilis
Aromatics:
- 2 cloves of garlic
Seasonings:
- 3 Tbsp kecap manis see notes
- 1 Tbsp sugar or more as needed
Instructions
- Place the chai poh in a mixing bowl. Cover with clean water and let it soak for about 3 minutes. Drain off the water completely and squeeze out the water as much as you can. Finely chopped them. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of sugar and toss to mix
- Preheat a wok or skillet over high heat (without oil). Add pork belly and stir fry for about 5 minutes. The fat will render out. Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add chili (if using) and stir fry for another minute until the chili slightly limp and blistered a bit
- Add chai poh and stir fry for another 5 minutes. Add seasoning. Stir to mix everything. The final taste should be sweet with just hint of savory from the chai poh. Remove from the heat and serve immediately
5 comments
Wow, I love the simplicity and elegance of your photos. Simply stunning! This recipe looks amazing to boot too!
Thank you so much Christina 🙂
Totally need to try this. I agree, pork belly is awesome. I’m pretty much sold on anything made with pork belly. I’ve never cooked with preserved turnip before, but I’m def intrigued!
Since you have adventurous palate, I believe you will like preserved turnip 🙂
You’re making me hungry right after dinner, Marvellina.