Salted Fish and Pork Belly Claypot (Ham Yue Fah Lam Poh)




Malaysian Chinese food has always been one of the great loves of my life. I’m talking fresh ingredients, tossed in hot wok with ginger, onions and garlic (the good stuff), and seasoned to perfection with soy sauce/oyster sauce/sesame oil, all ready in less than ten minutes.  

Going out for Chinese food is a weekly affair however when we do eat out, we tend to gravitate to the same dishes; Stir-fry Kai Lan (Chinese broccoli), Kam Heong Lala (clams), Egg Fu Yong and Ham Yue Fah Lam Poh (Salted Fish and Pork Belly Claypot). 

I was introduced to the Salted Fish and Pork Belly Claypot dish a few months ago, and haven’t looked back since! It sounds like an odd combination, salted fish and pork belly, but it works. Cooked in a claypot, the pork belly remains tender, juicy and flavourful. The addition of fresh ginger, onions, dried chillies and spring onions adds freshness and colour. The rice wine is a key ingredient as it really amalgamates the flavours together creating a lovely dish, worthy of restaurant standards.



  




This dish takes about 15 minutes to put together and is best served with rice. Perfect weekday meal! 





Salted Fish and Pork Belly Claypot (Ham Yue Fah Lam Poh)

Recipe adapted from Amy Beh

Ingredients

150g pork belly, thinly sliced

70g boneless salted fish, fried till crispy
6 slices of fresh ginger
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 dried red chilles, cut into 3cm sections, de-seeded (I left the seeds in for the extra kick)
2 stalks spring onions, cut into 4cm lenghts

Seasoning A
1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
0.5 tsp sugar
0.25 tsp pepper
0.5 tsp chicken stock granules


Seasoning B
1 tbsp Hua Tiau wine (chinese rice wine)
2-3 tbsp fresh chicken stock
1 tbsp thick soy sauce 

Method


  1. Marinate pork with seasoning A for 5 minutes.
  2. Heat claypot over a high heat. Add the marinated pork, ginger and onions. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Remove the cover and add seasoning B, dried chillies and salted fish pieces. 
  4. Stir well to combine then cover the claypot once more. 
  5. The dish is done when you see smoke escaping through the hole in the lid, or if using a wok, after 3 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat. Add the spring onions and serve immediately.