Five-Spice Egg & Pork Belly Stew (Instant Pot & Stovetop) ไข่พะโล้

1. Crush cinnamon sticks just until they break into smaller pieces, then add them to a dry saute pan along with star anise, cloves, coriander seed and Sichuan peppercorns.
2. Toast over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the coriander seeds start to darken slightly. Remove from heat and place on the cheesecloth or spice bag.
3. Add cilantro stems or roots then tie the cheesecloth to make a bag.  

Stovetop Method

1. Optional step for extra flavour if you have time: In a heavy-bottomed pot, add a little oil to coat the bottom then heat on high. Toss pork belly in ½ tsp salt, then sear until browned on at least two sides. Remove and set aside. Pour off any excess fat collected in the pot but do not wash the pot.
2. In the same pot add palm sugar and melt over medium high heat. Once melted, keep stirring until it turns a dark caramel colour. Immediately add stock to stop the cooking; the sugar will harden, this is okay. 
3. Add soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, black/dark soy sauce, white pepper, garlic and the spice bag. If you didn't sear the pork, add the ½ tsp salt at this stage.
4. Add the pork and simmer gently for 2 - 2.5 hours, loosely covered, until the pork is fork-tender.
5. Meanwhile, cook the eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes. Once done place in a bowl of cold water to cool. Peel the eggs; be gentle as the yolks are still soft.
6. Once pork is done, add eggs and tofu puffs and simmer another 8 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
7. Let the stew sit for at least 30 minutes before serving, and preferably one day in advance so the eggs can have a chance to absorb the flavour.
8. Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Instant Pot Method

Note: You can do the whole thing in the IP, but I recommend starting stovetop because it will be much faster. But if using IP for the entire process, do the first part on saute mode on high.

1. Optional step for extra flavour if you have time: In a heavy-bottomed pot, add a little oil to coat the bottom then heat on high. Toss pork belly in ½ tsp salt, then sear until browned on at least two sides. Remove and set aside. Pour off any excess fat collected in the pot but do not wash the pot.
2. In the same pot add palm sugar and melt over medium high heat. Once melted, keep stirring until it turns a dark caramel colour. Immediately add half of the stock to stop the cooking; the sugar will harden, this is okay. 
3. Add soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, black/dark soy sauce, white pepper, garlic and the spice bag. If you didn't sear the pork, add the ½ tsp salt at this stage. Bring to a boil then transfer to the IP. 
4. Add the pork into the IP and also the remaining stock, then cook on "pressure cook" mode on "high" for 20 minutes. Let it natural release for a minimum of 15 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure. You can place a wet cold towel on the metal part of the lid to help speed up the cooling down process.
5. Meanwhile, cook eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl of cold water. Peel the eggs; be gentle as the yolks are still soft.
6. Once pork is done, open the IP lid and add eggs and tofu puffs. Turn the IP on "saute" mode on "medium," then simmer the eggs and tofu for another 8 minutes (start timing from when the soup starts to bubble).
7. Remove the inner pot from the IP, taste and adjust seasoning if needed, and let the stew sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. I remove the inner pot because I found that when I let the soup sit in the IP, even with the machine off the heat retention is too high and the eggs continued to overcook.
8. Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

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