Sek Bak

Bought Evelyn Wan's Cooking Without Tears ages ago, during my theory-only-no-practical cooking days. Yes I must confess I love cookbooks more than cooking at that time.

I picked this book up again during my last trip back. It was nice browsing through possible dishes that I could actually cook this time. I wasn't going to bring the book with me to hk so I jotted down a few recipes. And this sek bak recipe is one of them.

Sek Bak (how I did it)


Ingredients:
3 palm sized pork fillets (you can also add pork organs)
*10 small shallots (sliced)
*1 pip garlic (crushed)
*1" each galangal and ginger (sliced)
*2 stalks lemongrass (bruised)
*a few pcs of kaffir lime leaves (shredded) this is my own addition
*cinnamon bark, star anise
3 cups of water
half cup light soy sauce
3 level Tbsp sugar
salt to taste
taukwah and taupok (add in half an hour before the dish is done)

Method:
1. Heat oil, add in * and fry till fragrant without burning, about 7 mins.
2. Add meat and turn about with the spices for about 5 mins. Slowly add in soy sauce and sugar and allow it to fry with the meat and spices for about 5 mins to release the fragrance of the spices.
3. Slowly add in the water (boiling), give it a stir and cover the pan. Simmer for about one hour over low flame or until meat is tender and gravy reduced. Check occasionally to ensure no sticking or burning. Adjust seasoning according to taste.

Tah-dah.. . sek bak!

Truth be told, I couldn't really remember the taste of sek bak. Don't think mom ever cooks it. My only encounter with sek bak that I can remember is when we ordered it (for occasions) from our two-doors-away neighbour.

I don't know if this is how sek bak should taste like but I do know that Annabel likes it. It's tasty and sweet with such pleasant blend of spices. What's not to like?