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Sweet Soy–Braised Pork (Babi Kecap)
This savory-sweet braised pork, called babi kecap, is a celebratory dish from Bali, the only Hindu-majority province in the Muslim-majority country of Indonesia. In traditional recipes, kecap manis, or Indonesian sweet soy sauce, supplies rich, dark color as well as salty-sweet notes; we approximate the flavor with a combination of regular soy sauce, molasses and brown sugar. Pork belly or neck often is the cut of choice for babi kecap, but we opted for easier to find but equally tasty pork shoulder or butt. Serve with steamed jasmine rice and sambal, if you wish to add a little heat at the table.
4
Servings
Tip
Don’t use blackstrap molasses; it’s strong, bitter flavor will overpower the dish. Opt for either light/mild or robust/full-flavored molasses.
1½ hours
50 minutes active
Ingredients
-
3
tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil, divided
-
2
tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
Directions
-
01In a medium bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon of oil, the ginger, garlic and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add the pork and stir until evenly coated; set aside. In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine ¾ cup water, the soy sauce, molasses, sugar and half of the chilies; stir well.
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March 10, 2023
Simple and Delicious
This is not difficult but takes a little time to prepare. I got a late start on dinner so used my Instant Pot to sauté the shallots then pork. Added the liquid and cooked on high pressure for 12 minutes, quick release. Removed the meat to boil down the sauce for a few minutes. Mixed meat back in with lime, pepper slivers, and cilantro. Delicious over Jasmine rice. Served with Milk Street's Sweet-and-Spicy Ginger Green Beans.
October 29, 2023
GREAT melding/mix of pungent flavors, sweet, spicy, umami, fantastic.
This is just great. I greatly reduced to serrano to accommodate family's low heat threshold, but wow. i found meat need more like 50 minutes to tender vs. 35. But all good.
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so...if i have kecap manis, how much should be used? 1/2 cup?