Learn how to make this easy version of braised pork with yam (taro) in a pressure cooker. Tender pieces of pork belly and hearty yam in a fraction of the time.
I use a mixture of pork belly and pork shoulder butt in this recipe. You can use just pork belly if you want too. Cut the pork belly and pork shoulder butt into about 1-inch in width piece and about 1/2-inch in thickness.
Preparing the taro:
Wear a glove if your skin is sensitive to yam (taro). Peel and rinse the yam, cut into large chunks about 2-inch cubes. Pat them dry if you are going to deep fry them. We cut it in this size so it won't fall apart when you pressure cook them
This step is optional: Preheat about 1-inch of oil and fry the yam until lightly golden brown. You can skip this step if you don't want to deep fry the taro
Cooking with instant pot:
Press saute on instant pot. When it's hot, add 1 Tbsp of cooking oil and swirl it to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the aromatics and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add fermented bean paste and stir fry for another 30 seconds. Add the pork pieces followed by the rest of the seasoning. Add 2 cups of water. Stir to mix everything
Turn off saute mode. Close the lid. Turn the steam release valve to seal. Press pressure cooker and set timer to 15 minutes. When timer is up, wait 5 minutes and release pressure
If you did not fry the taro : Carefully unlock the lid. Have a taste and season with more salt or sugar to your taste. Add the taro in there. Give it a stir to make sure the taro pieces are somewhat covered by the sauce. Close the lid back and seal the steam release valve again and set the pressure cooker to 2 minutes. Release pressure immediately when the timer is done
If you fry the taro: Carefully unlock the lid. Have a taste and season with more salt or sugar to your taste. Add the taro in there. Give it a stir to make sure the taro pieces are somewhat covered by the sauce. Close the lid back and seal the steam release valve again. We are just going to let the taro pieces sit in there and let the residual heat lightly heat up the taro and absorb the flavor from the sauce
If you want to take an extra step, you can skim off the fat using a fat skimmer
Garnish with chopped green onion and serve immediately