This Week's Fancy Pants Meal: Babi Kecap
Oh, this is good. THIS IS GOOD. But it's Indonesian, so I knew it was going to be good. Brasied Pork in a sweet soy sauce. It calls for kecap mani, but since we dont' get that round here, I made some homemade kecap mani by using soy sauce and brown sugar and boiling it into a syrup. Tastes a lot like the Taiwanese Braised Pork, but a little sweeter. It works with the salty pork. :9
# Babi Kecap
Asia: The Beautiful Cookbook
2.0 pounds boneless pork
1.0 tsp salt
1.0 tsp black pepper
0.25 cup vegetable oil
1.0 whole onion
2.0 tsp garlic (crushed)
2.0 tsp ginger (minced)
1.0 tsp red chili (minced)
1.0 cup thin coconut milk
0.25 cup soy sauce
0.25 cup brown sugar
0.125 cup brown sugar
1 - In small pot, add brown sugar and soy sauce.
2 - Boil the sauce over low to medium flame until thickens resembling maple syrup. If the mixture starts to boil vigorously and looks like it is going to overboil, move the pot away from the flame until the boiling has calm down and continue to boil over low heat. As the mixture cools down, it will further thicken.
3 - Cut the pork into 1/4-in (4-cm) cubes and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
4 - Heat the oil in a large pan until very hot and fry the pork until evenly colored; do not overcrowd the pan or the pork will begin to stew instead of browning.
5 - Transfer to a heavy saucepan or baking dish.
6 - Peel and finely chop the onion.
7 - Sauté the onion in the remaining oil with the garlic and ginger until softened
8 - Add the chili and sauté again briefly.
9 - Add to the pork with the remaining ingredients.
10 - Bring to a boil, then simmer gently over low heat or in a 350°F (180°C) oven for about 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is completely tender and the sauce is well reduced.
11 - Add a little more coconut milk during cooking, if needed. Skim the fat from the surface before serving.
