Tokwa’t Baboy

Tokwa’t baboy is a Filipino dish where pork slices and tofu cubes floating in a savoury sauce made by tomatoes, garlic, onion, calamansi juice, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salted black beans, and Chinese celery. The saltiness of this dish is brought about by the tiny salted black beans, also known as tausi. This dish is truly a fantasy for the soy lovers as this dish uses soybean curd, soy sauce, and fermented soy beans. The tokwa’t baboy with tausi with its unique umami flavour, will bring excitement to your big bowl of hot steaming rice. Yum!

TOKWA’T BABOY WITH TAUSI RECIPE

Ingredients:

• ½ kilo pork belly
• 4 pieces tofu
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons calamansi juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons salted black beans
• 1 cup water
• chinese celery (kinchay)

Directions:

1. Wash and prepare the tofu. Slice them into medium blocks.
2. Heat some oil in a pan. Fry the tofu blocks until light brown and crispy on the outside. Flip them to cook the other side. Once browned, transfer them to a strainer or paper towel to drain excess oil. Set aside.
3. In another pan, add the pork belly slices (no oil). Sear them nicely until oil starts to render. Then, remove some of the oil from the pan. Add the garlic and onion. Saute them for a few minutes. Then, add the tomatoes and salted black beans. Saute them all together for a few minutes.
4. Add the soy sauce and calamansi juice and then give it a little stir. Add some water, enough to cover the pork slices. Cover the pan and let it simmer for a few minutes until the pork is fully cooked and tender.
5. Meanwhile, slice the tofu blocks into smaller cubes. Set aside.
6. Check if the pork is tender by doing the fork test. Then, add the oyster sauce and black pepper. You may add a little sugar depending on your liking. Stir and give it a few minutes to cook until the sauce is reduced. Stir them from time to time to prevent the bottom from burning.
7. Once the sauce is reduced and thick, add the fried tofu. Toss them gently for a few minutes until each tofu is well covered with the sauce. Lastly, add the chopped chinese celery as garnish.
8. Transfer the tokwa’t baboy with tausi to a serving plate. Enjoy this with a big bowl of hot steaming rice. Yum!

WHAT IS SALTED BLACK BEANS?

If you are a fan of Chinese cuisine, then the salted black beans would be a familiar ingredient to you. These beans are served in small cans in the groceries and market. They are small oval-shaped black beans which is between firm and soft. The tausi is commonly added to dishes for a unique umami flavor and saltiness. Fish dishes were the most common type of dishes where the tausi is used. In this recipe, we will explore them with some tofu and pork.

TOKWA’T BABOY WITH TAUSI

Many of us had gained a little weight during the pandemic. For the past years, I have included “weight loss” in my yearly goals. After some consultations with a nutritionist, it is true that most of the fatty and oily dishes have contributed to our daily caloric intake. While we want to achieve calorie deficit, we should limit our intake with fatty food items.

If you have been an avid fan of my blogs, you know that I love meat, all types of meat! My friend who I been doing my weight loss diet with, suggested we shift to vegetarian diet to help us lose weight quicker. As your tita chef, of course I cannot sacrifice the meat! But I found a strategy that will help me lose the fatty portions while still enjoying my meals. You can do this with the help of tofu.

Tofu is made from soy beans, and is a good source of protein. The protein content of the tofu is truly comparable with pork and beef! And the most wonderful thing about this, is that the fat content of the tofu is very little, compared to a regular pork belly slice (except when you fry them). Which is why, I have been replacing some of the pork in my dishes with tofu.

Tokwa’t baboy with tausi is one of my most fave tofu + meat dish. While some people see tofu as an extender, for me, tofu is simply a healthier alternative. Enjoy the flavors of the tokwa’t baboy with tausi by including a lot of tofu! Eat without the guilt!

If you wanna know how to make tokwa’t baboy at home, read and follow the quick steps below. Happy cooking!

HOW TO MAKE TOKWA’T BABOY WITH TAUSI

Preparing some tokwa’t baboy is easy and straightforward. Before we go to the pan, let’s prepare the tofu first. Remember to choose the firm tofu (not the soft tofu) for this recipe. Simply slice them into medium blocks. We will slice them into smaller cubes later once fried, so there will not be too much oil absorbed by the tofu. Alternatively, you can air fry the tofu instead of frying.

Then, slice the pork. I chose pork belly for this recipe to have both the lean and fatty parts, but you can choose the leaner cuts if you want to cut some calories. Sear the pork until some of the oil renders. This oil will be used as the base of the dish, where we saute the aromatics, tomatoes and salted black beans.

As you saute, gently crush the tomatoes since we like the juice of the tomatoes contrasting the saltiness of the black beans. Add the rest of the seasonings to complete the flavor. Take note to be gentle with the salt since the black beans are already salty. Add some water to fully cook the pork. As the pork cooks and the sauce thickens, you can now add the tofu cubes and toss it in the pan together with the pork. Although I already used some oyster sauce, I added a little sugar to make it extra sweeter and richer.

I often use chopped spring onions for garnish, but for this recipe, some chopped chinese celery (kinchay) would complete the freshness and colors of this dish.

I really love my tokwa’t baboy while sizzling hot, together with some hot steaming rice. You can also enjoy this as a pulutan to an ice cold beer, but make sure to make this extra spicy with some red and green chilies!

Paano Magluto ng Tokwa’t Baboy

Mga sangkap:

• ½ kilo pork belly
• 4 pirasong tokwa
• 2 kamatis
• 5 pirasong bawang (minced)
• 1 sibuyas (chopped)
• 2 kutsarang kalamansi juice
• 2 kutsarang toyo
• 2 kutsarang oyster sauce
• 2 kutsarang tausi (salted black beans)
• 1 tasang tubig
• kintsay (chinese celery)

Paano lutuin:

1. Hugasan ang tokwa at hiwain ito sa katamtamang laki
2. Magpainit ng mantika sa kawali. Prituhin ang mga hiniwang tokwa hanggang maging light brown at malutong. Baliktarin para maluto ang kabilang side. kapag luto na ay ilagay sa strainer o paper towel para maalis ang sobrang mantika.
3. Sa isang bagong kawali, ilagay ang pork belly at lutuin ito nang walang mantika. lutuin lang ito hanggang lumabas ang mantika ng baboy. Alisin ang sobrang mantika at ilagay na ang bawang at sibuyas, at gisahin ng ilang minuto. Pagkatapos ay idagdag na ang kamatis at tausi. gisahin pa nang ilang minuto.
4. Magdagdag ng toyo at kalamansi juice at haluin nang bahagya. Dagdagan ng kaunting tubig para matakpan ang baboy. takpan ang kawali at hayaang kumulo nang ilang minuto hanggang malutong mabuti ang baboy.
5. habang hinihintay maluto ang baboy, hiwain sa mas maliliit na cubes ang tokwa na prinito kanina.
6. Kapag malamot na ang baboy, idagdag na ang oyster sauce at paminta at timplahan. Pwedeng mag dagdag ng asukal depende na sa inyong panlasa. haluin at lutuin pa nang ilang minuto.
7. Kapag malapot na ang sauce, idagdag ang mga hiniwang tokwa at haluin ito ng bahagya. Pagkatapos ay budbudran ng hiniwang kintsay sa ibabaw.
8. Ilipat ang tokwa’t baboy with tausi sa serving plate. Enjoyin ito kasama ng mainit na kanin. Yum!