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Babi dan Tahu Kecap - Pork and Tofu in Soy Sauce

Babi kecap is a familiar dish in many Chinese families living in Indonesia. Cure your homesickness by learning how to prepare this classic Chinese dish in your home.
Babi dan Tahu Kecap - Pork and Tofu in Soy Sauce.
Babi dan Tahu Kecap - Pork and Tofu in Soy Sauce.

Every Chinese Indonesian is familiar with Babi Kecap, or pork in soy sauce. My family version has fried tofu and hard-boiled eggs, and my brothers and I all grow up eating plenty of this dish. Please share with me if your family has a different version.

I believe this dish is known as Tau Yew Bak in Malaysia and Singapore, but we have always just called this dish Babi Kecap in Indonesia. We use three kinds of soy sauce (light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sweet soy sauce), a bulb of garlic, and a tablespoon of white peppercorns. Again, if you have a different version, I would love to learn and give your version a try.😊

Ingredients for babi dan tahu kecap (pork and tofu in soy sauce): pork, fried tofu cubes, hard-boiled eggs, garlic, white peppercorns, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis).
Ingredients for babi dan tahu kecap (pork and tofu in soy sauce): pork, fried tofu cubes, hard-boiled eggs, garlic, white peppercorns, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis).

Ingredients for babi dan tahu kecap

The main ingredients for this dish are pork, fried tofu cubes, and hard-boiled eggs.

You can omit the eggs if you wish, but I highly suggest either use double the amount of pork, double the amount of tofu, or increase both the pork and fried tofu cubes by 50%.

Pork belly is the most common cut for this dish, but you can also use pork shoulder or pork loin portion that is closest to the shoulder.

For the sauce, we will need garlic, white peppercorns, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis), and sugar.

(1) Blanch pork. (2) Boil water, pork, garlic, and white peppercorns. (3) Add fried tofu cubes, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, and sugar. (4) Add hard-boiled eggs and adjust seasoning as necessary.
(1) Blanch pork. (2) Boil water, pork, garlic, and white peppercorns. (3) Add fried tofu cubes, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, and sugar. (4) Add hard-boiled eggs and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Prepping the main ingredients

1. Tofu

If you start with a block of firm/extra-firm tofu, drain the tofu and cut it into 8 pieces. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan, or a well-seasoned cast-iron pan, fry the tofu until golden brown and set aside.

If you start with a packet of fried tofu cubes, heat a pot of water and blanch them to remove excess oil. This extra step ensures our final dish will not be oily.

2. Eggs

Place eggs and cold water in a pot. Turn on the heat and bring the pot to a rapid boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and wait for 12 minutes. Drain the eggs and place them in a pot of cold water. Peel the eggs once they are cool enough to handle.

3. Pork

Cut the pork into bite-size pieces. Boil a pot of water and blanch the pork for 3 minutes, drain and set aside. This step reduces the strong porky aroma, and our dish will have a clear broth.

A freshly cooked pot of babi dan tahu kecap (pork and tofu in soy sauce).
A freshly cooked pot of babi dan tahu kecap (pork and tofu in soy sauce).

Cooking the dish

Once we finish with the prep works, we are finally ready to cook the dish.

Start with boiling 4 cups of water, pork, garlic, and white peppercorns. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Add tofu, light/regular soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the pork is tender.

Add hard-boiled eggs and simmer for another 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning (salt and sugar) as needed.

Turn off heat, served immediately with steamed white rice.

Ladle some pieces of pork, tofu, and hard-boiled eggs for each person in individual bowls.
Ladle some pieces of pork, tofu, and hard-boiled eggs for each person in individual bowls.

Babi dan Tahu Kecap - Pork and Tofu in Soy Sauce

4.9 from 12 reviews

Author: Anita Jacobson

Categories: 

Cuisines:  

Ingredients:   

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins

Total Time: 2 hours

Serves: 4

Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 500 gram pork (use pork belly, pork shoulder, or pork loin closest to the shoulder), cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 block (450 gram/1 lb) firm/extra-firm tofu, cut into 8 pieces and pan-fried
  • 8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
  • 1 head garlic, peeled and lightly bruised
  • 1 tablespoon white peppercorns, cracked
  • 4 tablespoon light/regular soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoon Indonesian sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis)
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

  1. Blanch pork (optional): Boil a pot of water and blanch pork to remove scum. Drain and set aside.
  2. Blanch fried tofu (optional): Blanch tofu in another pot of boiling water to remove oil. Drain and set aside.
  3. Cook pork: Boil 4 cups water, pork, garlic, and white peppercorns. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
  4. Cook tofu: Add tofu, light/regular soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the pork is tender.
  5. Add egg: Add hard-boiled eggs and simmer for another 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning (salt and sugar) as needed.
  6. Serve: Turn off heat, served immediately with steamed white rice.
Indonesian Pantry
Indonesian Kitchen

Comments

  • Lim Ie Tjoe Lim Ie Tjoe says:

    Delicous.... (y)

  • Mir Mir says:

    I tried this recipe for dinner this evening, it turned out really well! Thanks for posting! I modified it a little bit as every Indo household has its own recipe for this dish. My mom always added ginger, a few cloves, and potatoes.

  • Shanna Shanna says:

    I just tried this and it turned out so good. It had so much flavor and was perfect.

  • Anjali  Anjali says:

    This recipe looks so simple to make and I bet it turns out to be super flavorful too!

  • Priya Lakshminarayan Priya Lakshminarayan says:

    This made me drool..love your recipe

  • Cate Cate says:

    I love how simple and tasty this recipe looks! Thanks so much for sharing, can't wait to try it!!

  • Marie Charlotte Marie Charlotte says:

    I don't eat pork but love the cooking method and would just use a different protein plus tofu! YUM!

  • Colleen Colleen says:

    This was delicious! We ate it with rice as you suggested, and also added some spinach to the dish.

  • Jess Jess says:

    I'm always looking for more pork recipe. This is a keeper!

  • Jamie Jamie says:

    Hi Anita!! I loved this recipe so much! It's such a comfort food for me since I grew up eating this but now I know how to make it at home. The flavors were just perfect. Thank you!

  • Katie Katie says:

    Looks so good! My family would love this.

  • Tara Tara says:

    Such a wonderful, comforting meal! I love the addition of the fried tofu and hard-boiled eggs.

  • Leah Leah says:

    I've been making a much different version of this recipe for 15 years, based on my husband's recollection of his mother's recipe. I decided to try your recipe, and followed it exactly, with the exception that I used 4 eggs rather than 8. I just gave my husband a taste of the finished product. I have to be honest, we were both sceptical, because Mama's recipe is good. What a delightful surprise! Delicious!! Better than Mama's? I'll never say:)) Thank you Anita!

  • Emma Emma says:

    Hi Anita, thank you for your recipe. I cooked this and I just wonder if this babi kecap should have a bit of bitter taste in it? Thanks.

    • Anita Anita says:

      Hi Emma, there shouldn't be any bitterness at all in this dish.

  • R R says:

    In step 3. Boil water, but how much water do we need? It doesn't mention any water in the ingredients.

    • Anita Anita says:

      Hi R, thanks for catching that! It should be 4 cups of water. I'm going to update the recipe.

      • R R says:

        Awesome, thanks! I cooked this recipe tonight and it's delicious :) thank you for sharing the recipe. I tried your other recipes too, love the sate babi, I've made it so many times.. yum yum.. 😊

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