My first ingredient I am exploring since starting this blog is Taucu. Taucu is preserved and fermented soybeans in the form of a paste. The description is quite off-putting to some but once you have tried this flavor, I guarantee you will begin to separate the descriptive words and focus on the palate.
To me, it's like opening a bag of salted peanuts and wanting to finish the whole packet - by happy choice. This is all that intensity combined into a paste used for cooking and flavoring.
So my first adventure with Taucu was to make Taucu Pork Ribs in a pressure cooker. The first time I made it, it was a bit tough and needed more cooking. The second time, I burnt it (predictably). Third times' a charm, right?
Taucu Pork Ribs
Meanwhile, chop up the onion and garlic to roughly the same size, diced. Put the pressure cooker on the heat and add 1 tblsp oil. Fry the onions and garlic until translucent but not colored. Add in star anise, Taucu and chilli paste. *Different Taucu brands have different intensities, especially with regard to the amount of sugar in them. I use the one depicted below but you might need to experiment with a couple of brands before getting the flavour you like. I settle on this one after going through 3 different brands - the reason for this is the right amount of salt, low sweet flavour, the fact that it was already in paste form (not beans) and the pure taste of nuttiness.
Saute well until the Taucu darkens in colour. Be careful not to burn the paste. Control the heat carefully to bring out the aroma and flavour.
Add in the ribs and stir well to coat the ribs. Continue frying until the raw smell of the ribs is fried out, roughly around 5 minutes. Add the water and vinegar - mix well and cover with the lid. *If you feel the water is insufficient, add more but think ahead on how much gray you want in your finished product.
Pressure cook on low flame until the cooker whistles once naturally. It will take around 30 minutes so be patient and don't get tempted to open and look into the pot. *There are different types of pressure cookers available these days - I use the classic one (pictured below) which has a weight on the lid and is manually controlled.
Open the pressure cooker and add the sesame oil. I served this with rice but I bet it would go down great with a beer and french fries. I didn't wait to garnish it but thinking back, some chopped spring onion would go really well with the finished dish.
To me, it's like opening a bag of salted peanuts and wanting to finish the whole packet - by happy choice. This is all that intensity combined into a paste used for cooking and flavoring.
So my first adventure with Taucu was to make Taucu Pork Ribs in a pressure cooker. The first time I made it, it was a bit tough and needed more cooking. The second time, I burnt it (predictably). Third times' a charm, right?
Taucu Pork Ribs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
400g pork ribs
1 tblsp light soy sauce
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, diced
2 pieces of star anise
2 tblsp Taucu paste
1 tblsp hot chilli paste (chili boh)
100 ml water
30 ml apple cider vinegar
3 drops sesame oil
2 stalks of spring onion, chopped to garnish
Start by marinating the ribs with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Mix well with your hands (massage those ribs well) to start building the flavour. Let sit in the fridge for as long as you're willing to wait, at least 30 minutes but preferably 2 hours.
Meanwhile, chop up the onion and garlic to roughly the same size, diced. Put the pressure cooker on the heat and add 1 tblsp oil. Fry the onions and garlic until translucent but not colored. Add in star anise, Taucu and chilli paste. *Different Taucu brands have different intensities, especially with regard to the amount of sugar in them. I use the one depicted below but you might need to experiment with a couple of brands before getting the flavour you like. I settle on this one after going through 3 different brands - the reason for this is the right amount of salt, low sweet flavour, the fact that it was already in paste form (not beans) and the pure taste of nuttiness.
Saute well until the Taucu darkens in colour. Be careful not to burn the paste. Control the heat carefully to bring out the aroma and flavour.
Add in the ribs and stir well to coat the ribs. Continue frying until the raw smell of the ribs is fried out, roughly around 5 minutes. Add the water and vinegar - mix well and cover with the lid. *If you feel the water is insufficient, add more but think ahead on how much gray you want in your finished product.
Pressure cook on low flame until the cooker whistles once naturally. It will take around 30 minutes so be patient and don't get tempted to open and look into the pot. *There are different types of pressure cookers available these days - I use the classic one (pictured below) which has a weight on the lid and is manually controlled.
After the first whistle, switch off the flame but don't move the cooker off the stove. Let the residual heat continue to cook the ribs and cool down surrounded by the yummy juices. *This is very important! If you open the pressure cooker too soon, the ribs will dry out and not have the full flavour of the spices surrounding it. Think back to all the cooking shows where your host says, "rest the meat after you take it out of the oven - this will let the meat retain all the juiciness and not dry out." Same concept here except we are using a pressure cooker.
Open the pressure cooker and add the sesame oil. I served this with rice but I bet it would go down great with a beer and french fries. I didn't wait to garnish it but thinking back, some chopped spring onion would go really well with the finished dish.
Hope you enjoy trying out my first recipe. Leave me some comments - I'd love to hear your views and how you pimped this recipe.
