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” NO REASON NEEDED, NO APOLOGY GIVEN. “
I’m not religious. I don’t have to explain why there’s pork, or fat-laden pork belly to be exact, in my biriyani.
Some truths hold themselves to be self-evident. Very few gets realized.
I also don’t have to explain this recipe’s utterly impure pedigree, a zig-zagging parentage between Southeast Asian and Indian and even a little of Chinese, making it an indecent, inglorious, bona-fide bastard. Drifted increasingly untethered to any particular nationality or culture, I feel somewhat of a kindred spirit to such mis-bred type, comfortable, reciprocal, defiant even. From one bastard to another, we know what we like, no reason needed, no apology given.
Right is right. Good is good.
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Bastardized pork belly biriyani
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs (1150 grams) skin-on pork belly, cut into 2 1/2″ (6.5 cm) cubes
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 7 medium or 9 small shallots, peeled and finely sliced
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 5~6 long green chilis or jalapeno, optional
- 3 large lemongrass, finely diced
- 2 tbsp chunks of galangal, finely diced
- 1 tbsp chunk of ginger, finely diced
- 3 small shallots, peeled and sliced
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 7 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3 tbsp balacan (Malaysian shrimp paste), or Thai shrimp paste
- 3 tbsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp chili flakes
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tbsp ground fennel
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 can (400 grams) coconut milk
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- 2.2 lbs (1 kg) basmati rice
- 15 whole green cardamom
- 12 whole cloves
- 4 Indian bay leaves (tejpata), use fresh bay leaves if unavailable
- 3 star anise
- 2 tsp ground turmeric + 2 tsp water
RICE TOPPINGS:
CURRY PASTE:
BRAISING LIQUID:
RICE:
Instructions
- Evenly toss the pork belly cubes with soy sauce then set aside (The soy sauce’s purpose is more to give the pork belly a beautiful caramel color than to season).
- Cut the shallots into evenly thin slices, which I like to do with a truffle shaver set at the thickest setting, but you can do with a knife. Add the sliced shallots and canola oil in a non-stick pot (the oil may not seem enough but it’s enough), then set over medium-high heat. Stir frequently and fry the shallots until all their moisture has been cooked off, and becomes light golden brown in color, about 10~13 min. Drain the shallots through a fine sieve and press on them to extract excess oil, then fluff them up with a fork. The shallots will darken into a golden browned color and crisp up. Set aside and reserve the frying oil. If using green chilis (for people who want spicy smokey bites in their biriyani), brush the shallot oil on the surface of the chilis and blow-torch until lightly charred and blistered all around, set aside.
- MAKE CURRY PASTE: I like to use an immersion blender with a tall container to make the curry paste, which I think produce the finest paste. But if you only have food-processor, you could do that, too. Either way, place the toughest ingredients inside the container first, which will be lemongrass, galangal and ginger. Give it a few run until they are coarsely ground. Then add shallots, bay leaves, garlics, balacan and two tbsp of the shallot frying oil, and continue to run the machine until everything is finely ground to a paste. Combine all the dry ground spices in another small bowl. Set aside.
- MAKE THE BRAISE: In a large dutch oven with a heavy lid (or other large heavy pot you got), heat 1 tbsp of shallot frying oil over medium heat (too high of heat will burn the soy sauce). Drain off excess soy sauce/liquid from the pork belly, then add them to the pot, turning every few minutes until they have given off some of their fat and acquired a caramelized color all around, about 15 min. Remove the pork belly with a slotted spoon and leave the oil. Add the lemongrass-paste and cook until the mixture starts to caramelize a little around the edges/bottom of the pot, about 3~5 min, then add the dry spice-mixture and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the pork belly back in, along with chicken stock, coconut milk, plain yogurt, fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir to mix everything evenly, then once the mixture comes to a simmer, put the lid on and maintain a simmer at low heat and cook for 1:40 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. At the end, the pork should be quite tender and the liquid should have reduced by about 1/4 but not too much. If you have lost more liquid, add a bit more stock. And please don’t skim off the fat on the surface which is going to give a lot of flavor to the rice. Stir in the yellow mustard at the end.
- ADD RICE: At this point, bring another large pot of water to boil and add a hefty pinch of salt as if cooking pasta. Once the water boils, add the basmati rice, green cardamom, cloves, Indian bay leaves and star anise. Cook for 3 minutes, then drain everything through a large sieve.
- Use a large spoon and start distributing the boiled rice (keep all the whole spices) evenly into the pork belly pot. The goal is to have an evenly thick layer of rice across the plain. Halfway through, scatter the charred green chilis around, then top with the rest of the rice. Then spoon the turmeric-water in random spots on the top surface, and scatter 1/2 the fried shallots on top. Put the lid back on and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 25 min, turn off heat, and let side undisturbed for another 10 min.
- To serve, use a large spoon to flip the sauce-soaked rice from the bottom of the pot to be mixed with the lightly spiced and white, yellow rice on the top. This biriyani is great to serve immediately but even better the next day reheated in the microwave.
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29 responses to “Bastardized pork belly biriyani”
Hello Mandy Lee,
your recipe sounds tempting, but for the two of us it’s an incredible amount. How many people is this recipe for? I’m looking forward to the first taste.
Thanks for your reply and all the best Millie20
Regula, hm, I’m gonna say 6 generous serving?
Looks amazing as always. The only problem is the sheer size of this, with 2.5 lbs of pork belly and 2.2 lbs of rice, you can not really make this for two people.
Biryani is never made for two. It is a dish for a crowd.
Split the recipe in half and you’d have a more reasonable sized biriyani for one meal and some left over for another. I think that’s more manageable.
You are such a gift!
This looks delicious! As someone who cannot eat pork, could this recipe work with chicken or beef?
Vee, yes of course!! And lamb, too. The only I would change with chicken is to reduce the cooking time to 30 min before adding the rice.
This looks amazing. Biryani has been on my “figure it out” list for a while. The recipes from your cookbook work beautifully for me so am excited. Biryani for a crowd sounds wonderful, but could be tough in the current climate for entertaining guests. For those who feel like this is too much – I am planning to make this for just the three of us, and package up extra to freeze and grab for lunches. Am pretty certain this will reheat beautifully.
Mary, yes it’s even better the next day!
As a Singaporean born and raised living in the US, your recipes just sing ‘home’ to me because this beautiful blend of cultures and spices is what we do! Can’t wait to give it a go and YOUR COOKBOOK IS AMAZING :)
Hello from SW France. Ill be cooking this recipe at the weekend. Just one question. When you state ‘yellow’ mustard, is that the slightly sweeter American version, or Dijon or hot English?
Rob, yes I meant the American Heines yellow mustard, but you can use Dijon too :)
Hi Mandy, I made this today and it was a great hit in the family. I halved the recipe as the dinner was only 4 of us, equally amazing!!!! Thanks for sharing such great recipe with us.
Beautifully written and illustrated as usual. I’m drooling. Happy cooking and eating, everyone.
This is AMAZING. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Like I did with many recipes that are not baking, I made some subs based on what I had available. Sweet onion for shallots; no shrimp paste but used a bit extra fish sauce; jasmine rice for basmati; cumin for fennel. I used what I had and what I thought would work.
I also made half the recipe, a little less than half of the rice – I had a 1 lb bag.
All said, this was amazing – such a flavor bomb. I cut my pork a bit smaller to speed up cooking time and that worked well I like have small bits of pork throughout. I will def make this again and again.
Very a great article. I have read many articles but this is the most informative and useful one for me.
The way you presented complex information so simply is remarkable.
This article is a valuable contribution to the field and a pleasure to read.
What is your attitude towards the unconventional nature of this recipe?
OMG, pork belly biriyani? That sounds wild and delicious! I’m definitely saving this recipe. I love how the author embraces the “bastardized” aspect. Gonna try making this next weekend!
This recipe sounds wildly bold and unapologetically delicious—love the mix of flavors and the attitude behind it. Definitely trying this beautiful “bastard” biriyani soon!
Loved the unapologetic spirit in this recipe! Blending Southeast Asian, Indian, and Chinese flavors shows how food can transcend borders, much like your bastardized pork belly biriyani. Your approach reminds me that great dishes often come from breaking tradition, which is perfectly captured in this biriyani’s bold fusion.
Really enjoyed the unapologetic approach here. Blending Southeast Asian, Indian, and Chinese flavors in the pork belly biriyani highlights how food can transcend traditional boundaries. Your detailed curry paste technique is especially inspiring for anyone wanting to deepen their spice game in biriyani.
I didn’t have any expectations concerning that title, but the more I was astonished. The author did a great job. I spent a few minutes reading and checking the facts. Everything is very clear and understandable. I like posts that fill in your knowledge gaps. This one is of the sort.
Love the boldness of your pork belly biriyani idea! Mixing traditions can lead to amazing flavors, and your no-apology attitude is refreshing. Would love to try this daring twist on a classic dish. Keep the creative recipes coming!
OMG, this looks amazing! Pork belly in biriyani? Never thought of that! I’m definitely saving this recipe for a weekend cooking adventure. I hope it turns out as good as it looks!
This opening is fantastic! ‘NO REASON NEEDED, NO APOLOGY GIVEN’ perfectly sets the tone for your ‘Bastardized pork belly biriyani.’ I love how you unapologetically address the pork belly inclusion, celebrating culinary freedom. It’s so refreshing to see such a unique take. Eager for the full recipe!!！
Love the bold stance from the get-go! ‘NO REASON NEEDED, NO APOLOGY GIVEN’ really sets the tone for this unique biriyani. Using pork belly sounds like an incredibly flavorful twist, and I appreciate the unapologetic approach to breaking culinary norms. Can’t wait to see the rest of the recipe!!!