Val asked if I was maybe referring to her when I talked about “fatty pork”. You should be aware that she had a knife in her hand at the time and a well-understood glint in her eye. I knew the correct answer. The right and truthful answer. I gave that answer. And, dear reader, I survived, to tell this tale of the underground.
Lydia Pang also survived an interesting childhood. And the ‘zine that she produced, based around “Bitter” reminds me in a lot of ways of the old samizdat items that came out of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, on tissue paper or Gestetnered to the point of illegibility.
So, in that spirit of underground revolution, I’ll transcribe the recipe and the words. Any errors are mine. Or hers. Or just simply entropy in action…
MY AUNTY TINA USED TO GIVE ME HER OLD CLOTHES, FANCY STUFF LIKE KAREN MILLEN. SHE WOULD PAINT MY NAILS. MY UNCLE JOHN WAS THE GUARANTOR ON MY UNIVERSITY FLAT FOR 3 YEARS, I REMEMBER PANIC ASKING HIM ON THE THURSDAY AND IT BEING SILENTLY SORTED BY FRIDAY LUNCH. OVER THE COURSE OF MY LIFE I’VE ACCIDENTLY STOLEN 20+ USB STICKS FROM MY UNCLE MIKE. FOR MY 8TH BIRTHDAY, MY AUNTY SUE AND MUM COVERED THE DINING ROOM CEILING IN HAND-CUT GOLD STARS, AUNTY SUE MADE ME AN EMERALD GREEN PARTY DRESS AND I REFUSED TO WEAR IT. LAST CHRISTMASMY PAW PAW, BABY SISTERS AND MUM PLAYED MAH JONG. THE CHRISTMAS BEFORE, HER AND MY DAD’S WIFE NAOMI GOT SO DRUNK MY MUM FELL OUT OF HER WELLIES WALKING HOME. EVERY YEAR, PAW PAW GIVES MY BROTHER TIGER A RED ENVELOPE. AS A KID I LOVED TROTTING DOWN THE COBBLYPATH TO MY GRANDPARENTS HOUSE, I WOULD SMILE
SEEING EVERYONES FIGURES STIRRING BEHIND THAT VELVET PINK LIVING ROOM CURTAIN. I TOOK SUCH PLEASURE IN GOING THERE, IN BEING DIFFERENT. NO TEENAGE REBEL PHASE NEEDED, ON THAT SOUTH WALES COUNCIL ESTATE, WE WERE WEIRD AND I FELT COOL BY DEFAULT. I LOVED THEIR HOUSE WHICH ALWAYS SMELLED OF TIGER BALM, OVERSTEEPED TEA LEAVES AND STEAMED SALTY THINGS.
OUR FAMILY IS FATTY AND LOUD, ABUNDANT, EVERYONE IN. GROWING UP AND EVEN NOW, I REVEL IN HOW INTRIGUING WE ARE. WE GET ON, MOSTLY. THERE IS HARMONY IN OUR FERAL CHAOS.
THIS DISH, IN IT’S POLARISING UGLINESS, IS PERFECT. PUNGENT AND DISRUPTIVE. NOT FOR EVERYONE. THE MEAT IS SOFT AND MOIST WITH THE GENTLE TASTE OF TIME. I LOVE THAT DESPITE ITS UNCOMPROMISING APPEARANCE, THIS RECIPE IS ALL ABOUT DELIBERATE TEXTURAL BALANCE. DO NOT OVER STIR, LET IT REST. DON’T YOU DARE USE HOT WATER, IT MUST BE COLD. IT’S ALL THOSE SUBTLE ELEMENTS COMING TOGETHER AS A FAMILY WHICH CREATES SOMETHING THAT TASTES TRULY UNIQUE.
3 LBS BELLY PORK WITH GOOD FAT TO MEAT RATIO
3 TABLESPOONS BASHED AND CHOPPED GARLIC
4 TABLESPOONS PRESERVED BLACK BEANS
2 BLADES OF DRIED TANGERINE PEEL
200 ML PORK STOCK JELLY
¾ CUBE FERMENTED TARO ROOT ‘NAM YU’
1 TABLESPOON ‘NAM YU’ LIQUOR
2 TABLESPOONS ROSE PETAL SPIRIT ‘MEI GUI LU JU!’
5 OZ PRESERVED BAMBOO SHOOTS
OR
1 HANDFUL OF DRIED WOOD EAR MUSHROOM OR BLACK
FUNGUS (IF USE, SOAK FOR 4 HOURS)
BUY OR CUT BELLY PORK STRIPS 1 ½ INCH WIDE, THE LENGTH OF THE BELLY STRIP CAN BE ABOUT 10 – 15 INCHES. QUENCH THE PORK STRIPS IN BOILING WATER FOR ABOUT 2 – 3 MINUTES, THEN REMOVE AND CLEAN/REMOVE STRAY HAIRS. DISCARD THAT WATER.
CUT THE BELLY STRIPS INTO 1 INCH CUBES AND PLACE IN A WOK OR FLAT 5 LITRE STEW POT/SKILLET. ADD COLD WATER UNTIL JUST BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE PORK.
WASH AND DE-HUSK THE BLACK BEANS, ITS BEST NOT TO OVER WASH THE BEANS. ADD CHOPPED GARLIC AND SQUISH THE BEANS AND GARLIC TOGETHER UNTIL PASTE LIKE CONSISTENCY, PLACE SMALL LUMPS OF THIS PASTE EVENLY ON THE PORK CUBES. APPLY MODERATE HEAT TO WOK WITHOUT LID AND DON’T LET IT BOIL. THE PORK SHOULD BE SIMMERED IN A SLOW BUBBLE FOR ABOUT 45 MINUTES, THEN GENTLY STIR THE PORK CUBES AND ALLOW TO BUBBLE FOR ANOTHER 30 MINUTES. IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO OVERSTIR THE PORK, TO KEEP THE CUBES INTACT AND THE LIQUOR NOT OILY.
ADD EITHER THE BAMBOO STRIPS OR WASHED AND TRIMMED BLACK FUNGUS TO THE PORK, STIR GENTLY. LET IT BUBBLE UNTIL THE PORK ‘WOBBLES’. TO REDUCE DOWN THE COOKING LIQUOR, FORM A WELL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MIXTURE AND ALLOW FOR GENTLE REDUCTION. BASTE THE PORK OCCASIONALLY AT THE PERIMETER OF THE WELL UNTIL HAPPY WITH THE REDUCTION. IMPORTANTLY DON’T OVERCOOK THE PORK, YOU DO NOT WANT THE SKIN TO SEPARATE FROM THE FAT OR THE FAT TO DISSOLVE INTO THE LIQUOR AND MAKE IT GREASY.
MIX THE NAM YU, NAM YU LIQUOR, MEI GUI LU IN A BOWL. THEN DISTRIBUTE THE MIX ON TOP OF THE WOBBLING PORK, CAREFULLY TURN THE MIXTURE 3 OR 4 TIMES. LET IT REST FOR 15 MINUTES, THEN THE WAIT WILL BE OVER, TUCK IN!
