1½ hours. Reduce the heat to medium, add the taro, mix well and simmer covered for about 30 minutes until tender. Finally, season with the salt and sugar, remove from the heat and transfer to a serving bowl.
4 As duck releases a large amount of fat during cooking, skim this off from the dish before serving. Serve the dish hot with steamed rice.
Serves 6 to 8
Preparation time: 45 mins
Cooking time: 1½ hours
Meat Recipes
For millions of Chinese battling constantly with shortages, meat on the table has always been a sign of better times. When there is a reason to feast, adequate is not nearly good enough. Abundance—if one has the means to afford it—is better, symbolizing luck and good fortune.
In Chinese festival cooking, pork, mutton and beef are all used, but pork is the celebratory meat: the nourishment of gods, favored by man, and coveted by spirits. Whole roast pigs are standard offerings at clan gatherings, weddings and thanksgiving celebrations. According to some provincial customs, they are also obligatory at funerals. When the festivities are over, the meat is carved up and distributed. Friends and relatives in attendance can look forward to taking “a piece of luck” home and sharing it with their families. At home, where such excesses are not possible or even practical during festival times, the gods understandingly exact no more than a modest joint of roast pork as appeasement.
Feasting on roast pigs at weddings and funerals was a custom of the Manchurian people. At such functions, the piece de resistance—a whole cooked pig—was placed on a red carpet on the floor. Guests armed with knives sat around the pig and helped themselves to whichever part took their fancy. When the Manchus ruled China during the Qing Dynasty, imperial approval raised the boar’s esteem to new heights. Every day at the imperial palace, two pigs were cooked to venerate the gods. During the Chinese New Year, the emperor himself would present the offerings. When the ceremony was over, the meat was distributed among his retainers. Those who performed well during the year were assured of a portion.
While pork owed much of its popularity to the Qing potentates, mutton was a legacy of the Mongols. Lamb was brought into China by these invaders from the desert interior, the founders of the Yuan Dynasty. But the Chinese soon discovered new ways to cook the meat. It is used in much the same way as beef, treated with ginger and spring onions to transform the strong flavor characteristic of red meats to one of subtlety, much preferred by the Chinese. Pot roasts and stir-fries are popular methods of cooking. Another favorite style is fondue—steamboat or firepot is also used to describe this mode of eating—where thin slices of meat are dipped into boiling stock together with other items, including vegetables. Beef and mutton, however, do not add up to ambrosia. Though regularly served at the festive table, particularly in the northern and interior provinces, they are food for the enjoyment of man and need not be offered to the gods, a sign of their “foreign” origins.
Roast Pork
Although it is not difficult, Chinese housewives rarely prepare roast pork at home, as it is so readily available. Everyone has her favorite roast pork vendor, and he can be found anywhere: in the marketplace or a neighborhood food shop. Frequently, such vendors have a whole roast pig to carve from, to the satisfaction of their customers. Gods take the meat plain but man may need a dash of soy, oyster or hoisin sauce to enhance the meat.
2½ lbs (1 kg) pork belly with skin left on, cleaned and dried
Sprigs of coriander leaves (cilantro), to garnish
Soy sauce, oyster sauce or hoisin sauce, to serve
SEASONING A
2 teaspoons five spice powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons minced coriander leaves (cilantro)
½ teaspoon sugar
SEASONING B
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 Place the pork on a flat surface with the skin side down and using a fine needle, prick the meat all over at close intervals. Combine all the ingredients for Seasoning A in a small bowl and mix well, then rub the mixture into the meat. Turn the meat over and using a sharp needle, score the skin by making deep pricks at close intervals. Combine the ingredients for Seasoning B in a small bowl and rub the mixture into the skin. Place the pork in a heatproof dish with the skin side up and leave overnight in the refrigerator, uncovered.
2 Preheat the oven to very hot (480˚F/250˚C).
3 Roast the pork, skin side up, in the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350˚F (180˚C) and continue roasting for another 50 minutes. Remove the pork from the oven.
4 Set the oven to broil and return the pork to brown for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned and the skin is bubbly.
5 Slice the roast pork into long strips and cut into thin rectangular pieces. Arrange on a serving platter, garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro) and serve hot or cold with dipping bowls of soy, oyster or hoisin sauce on the side.
Serves 4 to 6
Preparation time: 20 mins + overnight to marinate
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 mins
Pork and Taro Bowl
This is the festive Hakka dish, obligatory for every Hakka celebration. If you have a busy schedule, you can buy roast pork from the nearest Chinese take-away instead of making it. Red preserved bean curd (nam yee) has a pungent flavor rather like strong cheese. It comes in cubes packed in jars or bottles and is available in Asian food stores.
Oil for deep-frying
1 taro (about 1 lb/500 g), peeled and sliced
1 lb (500 g) roast pork, sliced
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons red preserved bean curd (nam yee)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (250 ml) water
Sprig of coriander leaves (cilantro), to garnish
CRISPY GARLIC
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon sliced garlic
1 Prepare the Crispy Garlic first by heating the oil in a wok over medium heat and stir-frying the garlic
