Tonight I am having suet kap for dinner. It has been such a long time and this is definitely nostalgic for me. Growing up I am excited every time I see the double boiler being used. I knew whatever in it would be good and I always get given a couple of spoonful. In them days the suet kap is quite dirty and we have to pick out the dirty dark bits same as birds nests. I did not realised that they are so cleaned nowadays. I am so happy to renew my relationship with this again.

However now I know suet kap, snow frog jelly is made from the extract of dried fatty tissue found near the fallopian tubes of the Asiatic frogs species, which live in the forest of Jiang Baishan mountainous region in Northeast China. Known originally as ” Hashima ” a Korean name, it is now widely known in English as Snow Jelly. However when I was growing up I only know the Cantonese name and that is ‘suet kap’

Suet kap is also cholesterol-free! Hurray! When I was young I was told that the benefits of consuming Snow Frog Jelly is to strengthen the internal organs especially our lungs and such it is said to be good for children who are prone to coughing. Consuming this is also known for a healthier skin complexion because it contains a lot of collagen. Chinese traditional medicine practitioners also recommend it for ailments such as respiratory issues, nourish the lung & kidney. (I am recovering from Covid19)

To read more about the benefits of what snow frog jelly please click on this link

With a Cantonese mother and a Hakka father I decided I have to cook this dish this way. I know, I know I deviated from traditions but I want to pay homage to both my parents. I blame it on lockdown. Too much time at home thinking. kekekekekeke

As my daughter is trying to learn how to do a Cantonese roast pork properly we can use the fruit of her labour. For my Traditional Cantonese Roast pork belly recipe – Traditional Cantonese Crispy Roast pork belly – Siu Yuk, 脆皮烧肉. – Just Julie (julieolive.co.uk) She made this piece of Cantonese roast pork yesterday and I turned it into Hakka Mui Choy with Pork Belly 梅菜扣肉 today for our evening meal.

Surprisingly the hubby love it and the daughter had a second helping too as we skipped lunch today. They were saving their calories for this dish. So funny.

I am very happy with this dish so I am posting recipe to share. I suppose it does take a bit of time to make the Cantonese Roast pork belly but you do not have to do everything in one day.

It’s not a stressful cook on the day as I do not have to boil the pork, marinate and fry on the same day anymore. Cooking it this way I have a different skin texture that I find very pleasant and it does eliminate half the cooking time on the day itself.

I suppose the best of all is that my family loves it.

This Jiangxi triple cooked pork belly dish is a very traditional and popular dish I learned from my ex mother-in-law. She cooked this dish a few times a year and as the youngest daughter-in-law I was terrified not only of this matriarch but of the oil spits!

She came to ‘Nanyang’ aka the old thermology for ‘Southeast Asia’ as in this case, Malaysia when she was in her 20s with 3 children on board an extremely small space on a Chinese junk because she was worried the father-in-law will look for a new wife! That was in the early 20th century.

She was an amazing woman and I am lucky to have learnt a few special Jiangxi home dishes from her after I overcame my initial fright and learned to speak the Jiangxi dialect.

This traditional homey triple cooked pork belly is one I have not seen in any recipe on the net or cook books. it is simple but oh so delicious! Mother-in-law cooked this on special occasion like festivals days only.

In Chinese it is called “Hui Guo Rou”, (回锅肉) , meaning the meat to be returned to the wok and to be cooked again. However this time not twice but triple cooked. That is, first boiled, second fried in oil and then stewed (simmered).

When she was cooking this dish I was always scared, the oil spitting and cleaning! It was scary! The huge amount of garlic to be minced finely, else we, the other sister-in-law and I will get THE look!

When it come to eating time, no one dare to take more than twice, aka 2 pieces or we get the matriarch’s STARE.

Today I have from my garden gathered some home grown spring onions and garlic. I am so happy to have my first harvest of garlic this year! I will definitely plant more next year! I wanted to use my garlic for a good dish, the best dish and I decided to pay homage to both my ex deceased mother-in-law and my home grown garlic.

This is also to document this Jiangxi triple cooked pork dish least I forget in my dotage.

Braised Pork Rice Bowl – Lu Rou Fan (滷肉饭) my way 

Recently in the cooking group I am in many mummies and daddies were cooking pork belly until I can’t stand it anymore. Got to eat Chinese/Asian for the Christmas month of December of British meals is getting too much. I don’t think I want to see another sausage or bacon strip for at least a month!

This is my take on Braised Pork Rice Bowl – Lu Rou Fan (滷肉饭)

The most important different way in which I cook my Braised Pork Rice Bowl – Lu Rou Fan (滷肉饭) is that I like to fry my pork belly skin first. This gives the skin an extra ummmph. The skin also absorb more taste from your stewing ingredients.