AI-generated image
Babi pangang
Babi pangang: Chinese-Indonesian-Dutch crispy pork in sweet-sour red sauce
DutchBabi pangang is one of the most ordered dishes in the 'Chinees-Indisch' restaurants found in every Dutch town: crisp-skinned roast pork belly, sliced and smothered in a bright red, sweet-sour sauce with tomato, ginger and pickled vegetables, served with rice or nasi goreng. This is a pork dish. A common mistake is pouring the sauce over too early, which turns the crackling soft. Chef's tip: dry the skin overnight in the fridge and roast it hot at the end, then pour the sauce around, not over, the pork at the table. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C plus a rest; belly is best cooked longer, until tender.
- Total time
- 105 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pork
- 2 ¼ lb pork belly with skin
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
For the sauce
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- ¾ in fresh gingergrated
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 4 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tbsp cornflourmixed with 2 tbsp water
To serve
- 1 ⅓ lb cooked rice
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Score the skin of 2 ¼ lb pork belly with skin and pat dry. Rub the meat side with 1 tsp five-spice powder and 1 tbsp soy sauce, and the skin with 1 ½ tsp salt. Chill uncovered overnight.
Step 2: Heat the oven to 350°F (fan 325°F). Roast skin-up on a rack for 1 hour, until the meat is tender and reads at least 145°F.
60 minStep 3: Turn the oven to 475°F (fan 425°F) and roast 15 minutes more, until the skin is puffed and crackling. Rest 10 minutes.
15 minStep 4: Fry ¾ in fresh ginger and 2 cloves garlic in 1 tbsp sunflower oil for 1 minute, add 4 tbsp tomato ketchup, 3 tbsp sugar, 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce and ¾ cup water and simmer 3 minutes. Thicken with 1 tbsp cornflour and stir in 3 ½ oz sweet-sour pickled vegetables (atjar).
5 minStep 5: Slice the pork and serve with the sauce around it and 1 ⅓ lb cooked rice. Common mistake: sauce on too early; soft crackling.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 38 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does babi pangang take?
- About 105 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese