Nyonya or Peranakan style of braising pork in seasonings, aromatics and fermented soybean sauce. The recipe can be made with a pressure cooker, slow cooker, or on the stove.
Cut the pork into bite-size. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then boil the pork for about 5 minutes and then discard the water and rinse the pork with clean water
Prepare the aromatics and mushrooms:
Place shallots, garlic, and ginger in a food processor and finely chopped them. Set aside. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 15 minutes or until they are softened. Keep the liquid
If using Instant Pot pressure cooker:
Mix all ingredients for seasonings and set aside. Press saute and when it says "hot", add cooking oil. Add the chopped shallots, garlic, and ginger in there and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes
Add the pork followed by seasonings. Stir to mix everything. Pour in the liquid from soaking the mushrooms and top up with water if necessary, just enough to barely cover the pork. Scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing gets stuck. Add hard-boiled eggs. Turn off saute mode
Close the lid. Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on "high pressure". Set the timer to 30 minutes. Turn the steam release valve to "sealing". It will take about 10 minutes or maybe less to pressurize
When the time is up, release pressure immediately, add chunks of potatoes. Turn the saute mode back on and let the potatoes cooked until soft, but not mushy. Adjust seasonings to your taste
If cooking on the stove:
Preheat a dutch oven. Add cooking oil. Add the chopped shallots, garlic, and ginger in there and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes
Add the pork followed by seasonings. Stir to mix everything. Pour in the liquid from soaking the mushrooms to deglaze the pot and top up with water if necessary, just enough to barely cover the pork. Add hard-boiled eggs. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to let it gently simmer for the next 1 hour or until the pork is fork-tender. 15 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the potatoes and cook until soft but not mushy. Adjust seasonings to your taste
If cooking with a slow cooker:
Preheat a dutch oven. Add cooking oil. Add the chopped shallots, garlic, and ginger in there and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes. You can skip this step if you want to without stir-frying the spices, but I feel like it adds extra flavor to the overall dish
Transfer to a slow cooker. Add the pork, seasonings, and the rest of the aromatics. Pour the liquid from soaking mushrooms and top up with some water if needed to barely cover the pork. Cook on low for 4 hours or until the pork is really tender. Adjust seasonings to your taste. The end result should be savory with hint of sweetness
Serving:
Serve babi pongteh with some rice as part of multi-course meal