Claypot Pork Belly With Salted Fish 咸鱼花腩煲

Finally it's something Southeast Asian. I've been mostly cooking up Taiwanese, Japanese, and some western food recently, and now it's time for a popular dish around Malaysia and Singapore area, claypot pork belly with salted fish. 

Traditionally this recipe calls for pork belly, either thicker slices or chunks of meat. However, I find it a bit too fatty for my liking, so I switched up half of the meat to pork jowl, the so called Matsusaka pork.

Claypot pork belly with salted fish 咸鱼花腩煲 - 

Ingredients?

• 250 grams pork belly slices (1mm to 2mm thickness)
• 250 grams pork jowl slices (1mm to 2mm thickness)
• 1 small chunk salted mackerel fish 梅香鹹魚
• 1/2 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 dried red chilis
• 1 small chunk ginger
• 1 stalk scallion
• 1 tablespoon potato starch
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon aged Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon crystal sugar
• 1/2 cup hot water
• Some olive oil

How?

Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of aged Shaoxing wine, 1 teaspoon of dark sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of potato starch to marinate the pork. Do this step first then move on to prepping other ingredients.

Peel and slice the onion to wedges. Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Slice the dried red chilies to shorter sections, also shake-off the seeds inside. Scrape and roughly chop the ginger. Destem and slice the scallion to shorter sections, separate the green and white parts.

Try to remove the skin from the salted fish if possible, also pick out the bones if any. Tear to smaller pieces.

Have a claypot ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the pot warms up. Add in pork along with the marinade. Stir-fry till just about cooked-through. Scoop out and set aside for later use.

There should be some oil remain in the pot but do drizzle more oil if needed. Add in salted fish, stir-fry till slightly browned and breaks apart.

Add in garlics, ginger, scallion white sections, onion, and dried red chilies. Mix and cook till aromatic, maybe slightly golden brown on the edge for the onion wedges.

Transfer the pork back to claypot. Mix and season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce. Flip around till evenly blended.

Pour in some hot water, and the amount of water added should be below the top of the ingredients. I used 1/2 cup of hot water here. Bring to a boil and let it cook for couple more minutes.

Add in the green part of scallion sections. Continue to cook for another 30 seconds. Add about 1 teaspoon of crystal sugar and cook till fully melted. 

The claypot can prolong that heat for quite a while even after you switch-off the fire. Just bring the entire claypot to dining table. This dish should be a crowd pleaser and goes really well with some rice.

The Chinese salted fish I'm referring to is usually made with mackerels. The fish needs to go through fermentation, salt-curing, and sun-drying processes. Usually and maybe the most commonly seen is that you'll find salted fish being used in fried rice in fancier Chinese restaurants.

However, consuming salted fish in small amount once a long while is fine. But don't be like too addicted and include salted fish in your regular meal often. It might be packed with umami and works like a wonder as a flavoring ingredient, but definitely not an ideal item and healthy thing to enjoy on a regular basis. 

Other recipes using claypot:

• Aged Shaoxing wine and soy sauce prawns 花雕醬油大明蝦
• Braised chicken with abalone 鮑魚悶雞

Steamed Clams with Smoked Bacon in White Wine Parsley Sauce

My initial plan was to use chorizo for this clam recipe, but somehow all the imported chorizo were banned in Taiwan. So I guess I won't be seeing imported chorizo for a long while. Good thing that the substitute - thick cut smoked bacon worked really well too.

Steamed clams with smoked bacon in white wine parsley sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 380 to 400 grams clams 
• 100 grams thick-cut smoked bacon
• 1 big bulb shallot
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small bundle flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 yellow lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

How?

First let's "clean" the clams first. Rinse and roughly clean the clam shells. Fill a medium pot with some room temperature water, mine was about 600ml of water with 3 teaspoons of salt added.

Add in the live clams and just let them sit there, don't go peeping too often in the beginning nor moving the pot. These movements might disturb the clams and then will have their shells tightly shut. 

The image I have here was only like 10 minutes into the soaking process. I would suggest wait for one hour, and make sure you do see the clams purged out the sand. It's actually quite fun to watch them doing that. Once all set, drain out the liquid and the clams will be ready to use.

When the clams are about ready, let's prep other ingredients. Slice the bacon to medium size chunks. Peel and chop the shallots and garlics. Separate the stem and leafy part for the parsley, chop the leafy part and section the stems. Slice the lemon into wedges.

Have a stainless pan ready, the reason why I specifically said stainless is that we will be adding in the clams, and the stainless material won't be damaged by the clam shells moving around.

Turn to medium or medium small heat. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and add in the bacon chunks. Sear till some fats have been rendered and the meaty part turns a bit browned.

Add in shallots and cook for about 30 seconds. Then add in chopped garlic, parsley stems, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Toss and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add in the clams and give it a quick mix. Pour in 1/2 cup of dry white wine.

Swirl a little then cover the pan with a lid. Use medium small heat and let it "steam" for about five minutes, or till the clams just opened up.

Remove the lid, pick out parsley stems and discard any clams that are still tightly closed. This time around, add in chopped parsley leaves. Squeeze in some lemon juice, about 1 tablespoon. Give it a quick mix.

Plate and add one or two extra lemon wedges on the side.

Note that I only posted the clam dish here. But there is definitely one other thing you can do to boost up the dining experience. Serve the dish with some toasted baguette. You can enjoy the clams and bacon chunks with the bread, also further soak up all the juice on the plate using the bread.

Nothing goes to waste, especially all that juice was like the essence from the clams, super flavorful and packed with umami. Even if you don't have any bread on hand, at least cook up some pasta or rice, just pour the sauce all over. It might sound weird but once you took a few bites you'll know what I'm talking about.

Other wine-friendly recipes:

• Nectarine and Serrano ham crostini
• Less oil fried cream cheese wontons
• Crostini with Serrano burrata and hot honey

Salted Duck Egg Shrimps 鹹蛋蝦仁

When you see salted egg out there, most likely it's salted "duck" egg. The reason is that duck egg has more fat compared to chicken egg, also less water. In addition, the duck egg shells are tougher with bigger yolk size. All that making duck egg a more ideal candidate to go through the brining process.

Salted duck egg shrimps 鹹蛋蝦仁 -

Ingredients?

• 20 to 24 shrimps
• 2 salted duck egg
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 stalk scallion
• 1 small chunk ginger
• 1 to 2 red chilies (optional)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine
• 2 tablespoons sweet potato starch

How?

Peel and devein the shrimps. Use 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice cooking wine to gently massage and marinate the shrimps. A short marinate time should be enough, just do this step first then move on to prepare other ingredients.

Peel the salted eggs, separate the yolk and the white then chop to smaller pieces.

Destem and chop the scallion, separate the green and the white parts. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Destem and chop the red chilies if using. Scrape then finely chop the ginger.

When it's time for the actual cooking part, use about 2 tablespoons of sweet potato starch to mix in and coat the shrimps. Only do this step last minute. 

Quickly get a pan ready and drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat. Once warmed up, add in the shrimps and sear till colored and about 70% cooked-through. After that, scoop out and set aside for later use.

Still using the same pan, drizzle more oil if needed. Use medium low heat this time. Add in chopped yolk and sear till the consistency becomes more paste-like and a bit bubbling.

Add in all the chopped scallion white and most of the chopped greens along with garlic, red chilies, and about 1/2 teaspoon of chopped ginger. Sear till aromatic. You can adjust to medium heat here.

Add back the shrimps and give it a quick stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add in the egg white and cook for another 30 seconds. Taste and see if additional salt is needed. I didn't add any this time.

Once the seasoning has been checked, drizzle a round of white sesame oil, about 1 teaspoon. Add in all the remaining scallion greens and toss till evenly mixed in. Plate and serve.

Note that I didn't use any extra salt in this recipe. The reason is that "salted" duck egg can be quite salty already. So in general, by using the salted duck egg alone should be enough. However, if you prefer heavier flavor, just add a tiny pinch of salt should do. Just a tiny pinch.  

Other recipes using salted duck egg:

• Steamed pork patty with salted duck egg
• Salted duck egg and salmon fried rice 鹹鴨蛋鮭魚芥蘭炒飯

Deep-Fried Tofu Pouch Stuffed with Semi-Cooked Egg

There's something hidden inside the tofu pouch!? Something simple and comforting, a semi-cooked egg that is. The deep fried tofu pouch stuffed with semi-cooked egg can be a snack on its own or a good portion side dish, but I think the best is to serve as something to munch on as beer food (don't drink and drive).

Deep-fried tofu pouch stuffed with semi-cooked egg - 

Ingredients (for six servings)?

• 3 large rectangular pieces deep-fried tofu pouch
• 6 eggs

Sauce:

• 1 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Japanese rice wine

How?

Rinse the fried tofu pouches under hot water to draw out some of the oil. You can soak them in hot water too but just for a quick moment. Drain and gently squeeze-dry. Slice the tofu pouch in half and carefully open up the inner side to get two smaller pockets.

Break the egg one by one, better to break into a bowl or measuring cup first. Carefully open up the halved tofu pouch then pour in the egg.

Use one toothpick to sew together the opening in a ziczag fashion. So in the end you'll get like a small pouch or packet for each serving. Repeat for all 6 servings.

Have a medium pot ready and add in all the ingredients listed under the "sauce" section. Bring to a boil then adjust the heat to keep at a light bubbling stage.

Transfer the pouches over with the openings facing up. It's totally fine if the pouches are slightly leaning on one side. Just remember half way through the cooking, carefully switch to the other side to ensure even flavoring. 

So once the pouches are in, cook for five minutes while spooning some of the sauces to the openings too. After that, change sides and cook for another five more minutes.

Transfer the pouches to serving plate. Remove the toothpicks, the pouchy shape should hold even without the toothpicks by now.

The tofu pouch is even more delicious after soaking in all the sauce. Not just the runny yolk, but the sauce will also get squeezed and flew out when you took a big bite in the center. Quite satisfying especially considering how easy this recipe is.

I wonder what else can I stuff inside, any interesting ideas? 

 

Extended reading:

• Hijiki and inari age onigiri 羊栖菜豆皮飯糰
• Salmon and quinoa stuffed fried tofu pouches
• Japanese fried tofu pouch and beef udon 日式豆皮牛肉烏龍麵

From Tokyo to Taipei - Bringing Diners The Tempura Motoyoshi Experience to Tempura Motoichi

Tempura Motoichi is one of the refined tempura experiences you can find in Taipei. It's quite popular too. In fact, it's been almost fully booked since the opening date back in March 2024. 

Tempura Motoichi (元一台湾天ぷら) is the oversea branch of Tokyo's two Michelin-starred Tempura Motoyoshi (天ぷら元吉) led by Chef Kazuhito Motoyoshi (元吉和仁). Not going to lie, such pedigree definitely helps in drawing local diners' attention right from the beginning. As long as the quality and expectation hold, the Taiwan branch Tempura Motoichi is bound to success. And it did actually, earning its first one Michelin-star in August 2025. 

That's quite an accomplishment, getting a star within two years of opening date. On a more financial stand point, Tempura Motoichi was also nearly fully booked even till this day. I was just checking its online booking site, and there were only three openings within the following month. For sure the these spots will be taken eventually. Fame plus actual business performance, Tempura Motoichi got them all.

And these meals are not cheap. Regular omakase style lunch is set at $5,500 NTD per person, about $175 USD. Dinner runs at $6,500 NTD per person, about $205 USD.

I didn't take all the pictures of their drink menu, but it seems like they do carry more "not so common" varieties compared to other Japanese fine dining places in Taipei.

They also carry Taiwan's local specialty beer, which Mister got one to try (don't drink and drive). I got the wine pairing instead and intended to have Mister help me with the most of it. Put the alcoholic drinks aside, we also ordered one extra bottle of cold brewed Biluochun (碧螺春), a rather refreshing Chinese green tea to enjoy the meal with.

This is our Head Chef at Tempura Motoichi, who was a bit quiet in the beginning but opened up and started to chat with the guests as time passed by and when the dining vibe became more relaxed - 

On the very left was our cold brew Chinese tea, then the colorful bottle was Taiwan's craft beer Jim & Dad using locally grown Koshihikari rice. The flavor was very light and refreshing, the "touch" is even milder compared to the famous 18 days Taiwan Beer. No wonder the restaurant picked this selection for their generally light-tasting fried courses - 

On the very right was my first alcoholic drinks pairing, Benten Tsuyahime (辯天/つや姫) sparkling sake. It was crisp with a wee bit sweetness, making it a refreshing start of the night. 

Seasonal bonito fish and squid. By the way, if you're unfamiliar with the squid sashimi at a higher leveled Japanese restaurant, you might be surprised by its texture. With the right aging and knife skills, the squid can be super soft but yet still some glutinous bite remain. The texture is definitely on the other spectrum of the common slightly chewy fried calamari at an American restaurant. 

We were about to venture into the "fried" zone. The Chef brought out most of the ingredients that will be served that night -

Some of the basic dressings to eat along with our fried courses, including the tempura sauce on the lower left. There's also coarsely grated radish, which diners can put some to the tempura sauce. 

Lemon wedge on the side. Not seemed from the picture were soy sauce, salt, and more tempura sauce if needed. And that empty tiny bowl in the middle was actually a fancy "trash can," which we didn't use at all. I think it's for like leftover parts of the food such as fried shrimp tail. But the shrimp tail was actually fried to a point it's like an airy crispy cracker so we just ate the whole thing.

All that smoke wasn't just for the show. It was Tempura Motoyoshi's specialized technique recreated in Taiwan's Tempura Motoichi branch. Basically by introducing liquid nitrogen to the batter in order to quickly lower the moisture in the frying flour. 

However, don't ask me about the actual science behind it, all I really know for sure is that I do enjoy the misty presentation and the light as the cloud fried shrimps in the end.

Only if I can eat like a dozen of these fried shrimp heads everyday as a luscious snack. Seriously, you don't feel any grease at all but a good brush of crustacean aroma and airy crunch instead. 

In fact, on top of liquid nitrogen that was utilized sometime during the meal, the frying oil was also the key to their refined fried dishes. The main component of the oil they used is white sesame oil imported from Japan. But not just regular white sesame oil, think of it like the extra virgin grade white sesame oil, giving its food an distinct yet clean and elegant aroma. 

Second pairing was Kokuryu (黑龍) daiginjo rice wine. The server was quite knowledgeable about their drink selection and always provided good amount of flavor and aroma descriptions when serving something new - 

So the first shrimp was "lightly fried" and this second shrimp was more of a "deep fried" version instead. To better compliment each different texture, Chef recommended to enjoy the lightly battered version with salt flakes, and the heavier crunchier version with tempura daikon sauce -

Water bamboo shoot -

Kisu, Japanese whiting fish -  

They brought up some finely diced pickled rakkyo (らっきょう), which is like a type of small onion bulb usually found in Japanese cuisine. I especially enjoyed this one because rakkyo's mild spicy kick with sourish pickling worked so well with white-fleshed fish. 

I guess in a way you can try to imagine this as the fried fish fillet in a sandwich served with relish. Of course the rakkyo and fried kisu fish is a more refined version, but you can better grasp the idea of how these two components can pair so nicely together. 

Unbelievably vibrant red carrot - 

Of course that vibrant red color is all natural. This pretty-looking carrot is an imported specialty from Japan called "kintoki ninjin."

But besides that color, can you see how thin the fried coating was?

Zaku megumi no tomo (作/惠乃智) junmai ginjo rice wine, served warm this time - 

Now this is something super fancy, the entire log was actually steamed snow crab, can you imagine how much hassle it'll take to get all the meat out and formed into a log?

And the luxury log of crab meat was fried and dotted with crab miso on top to further boosted up that umami punch. It was so well-prepared, the whole thing kind of just collapsed in my mouth, so smooth, and yet such a pampered way to enjoy a big mouthful of crab. 

Oyster -

Even though with its simple-looking presentation, the fried oyster was actually one of my favorites that night. Well, in fact I liked all the dishes. But the fried oyster was executed so well, the taste was clean with extra crispy edge yet soft and moist meat. So I supposed it's the combination of contrasting textures that won over my heart.

Burdock root four ways - 

By four ways, I mean served in different flavoring choices. From right to left were burdock roots served in salt, soy sauce, coffee bits, and goma sauce. 

Shirako - 

At first I thought with such delicate texture, shirako, frankly speaking the sperm sac of cod fish, would be enjoyed with salt flakes. Surprisingly the Chef instructed us to eat it with tempura sauce.

Well, no complaints there, I love eating tempura with the specialty sauce way more than mere salt flakes. And you know what, that coiled "structure" or the wrinkles can really hold up the sauce well, made my two big bites even more enjoyable.  

Tsunan Beni (つなん/紅) junmai ginjo rice wine - 

That cute rice wine label is actually a Japanese serow, kind of like a goat and antelope looking animal if you're not familiar with serow. 

Since I really enjoyed all the dishes at Tempura Motoichi, it's very hard for me to pick the best one. However, put the personal preference aside, I do give high praises to the shrimp stuffed shiitake mushroom.

They use Taiwan's selected shiitake mushroom that is super big and plump, stuffed with chopped shrimp and fried into a giant ball. With one full bite, you are first impacted by the mushroom aroma, strong but not like dried mushroom kind of dense scent. Then there's intentionally raw layer of shrimp in the center and just about fully-cooked shrimp on the exterior.

Now that's jaw-dropping technique there. How do you keep all three layers attached seamlessly without over-frying any single spot? Texture-wise on top of the fried coating and the softer ingredients, there're also different degrees of moisture coming from the shiitake, raw shrimp, and cooked shrimp. One course that let you experience layers of delicate flavors and mouthfeel, and that's why I picked this dish as this post's cover photo, truly deserved the spotlight.   

Thick-cut karasumi, salted and sun-dried mullet roe - 

Just for your information, this is super good with Japanese rice wine. In fact, I think all Asian style karasumi pair well with Japanese rice wine. 

Ozōni with Taiwan's branded chicken - 

Ozōni (お雑煮) is like a style of Japanese soup infused with mochi rice cakes. Well, usually you'll actually find a piece or two mochi inside the soup, but the version served at Tempura Motoichi blended the mochi into the soup. So you get this somewhat roux-like yet a little soupy consistency in the end.

Imagine something with a bit thickness and filled with chicken soup aroma, this is indeed a heart-warming and comforting dish. I would love to have this whenever I'm feel low in energy or even catch a cold.

Suavia Monte Carbonare Soave Classico DOC - 

Uni, sea urchin that is. Always a crowd pleaser -

I think many people would die for this Japanese sea urchin-filled dish, especially such creamy bite was carefully held by a thin layer of fried shiso leaf.

Not me though. I did enjoy it. However, if you want me to choose my top three of the night, the spot won't be crowned to the uni but there's certainly a spot for the shrimp stuffed shiitake mushroom, oyster, or even the snow crab log. 

Lotus root with a dab of soy sauce - 

Hairtail fish -

Considering hairtail fish's ribbon-like shape, these two fish chunks were actually quite thick and juicy. You can probably see some fat glistening on the image, very delicious. 

Kamoshibito Kuheiji (醸し人九平次/黑田庄) junmai daiginjo rice wine - 

Sweet potato - 

It's a bit like enjoying a dessert. The already sugary sweet potato tasted even sweeter after frying, and the texture was tongue-smashing soft.

For shokuji (食事), an actual small meal to make you full, like you weren't already stuffed with lots of food by the time being, guests can pick between rice or thin flour noodles, both will also be served with a piece of fried shrimp pancake.

And you have to pick the size too, so I guess they do understand that by this time the guests might feel quite full already, especially for the ladies. However, the smallest bowl on the far left was way too tiny, of course I aimed for the biggest one on the right, no matter I felt full already or not.

If you pick the rice then the shokuji will be served like tendon (天丼) style. As for the somen noodles, it'll be served with clam based soup, which I think was even better than the rice because some umami-filled hot soup can be very comforting towards the end of the meal.

Despite the serving bowl difference, each guest gets the same sized fried shrimp pancake that's made up with many smaller whole shrimps inside. 

You can soak the entire shrimp pancake inside the soup, then the whole bite became much more gentle and soothing in a way. Also the shrimp added a bit seafood sweetness pop every time I chewed into it. 

To enjoy along the shokuji, the restaurant also brewed some Chinese black tea for the guests. 

Matcha pudding with Taiwan's Jin Xuan Oolong tea - 

The Chef was pretty generous in sharing meal-related information, like when some diners were talking about the tea served, he told us where the restaurant sourced the tea leaves from. We can even go to the tea store and asked to buy the exact same tea that Tempura Motoichi used if we wanted to. 

Overall is Tempura Motoichi worth a try? Well, let me put it this way, there's this nice gentleman sitting next to me, a solo visitor from Hong Kong. Throughout the dinner service we learnt that he actually just had another fine dining tempura meal for lunch the same day, that shows how much love for food he had there.

So he was sharing his opinion regarding the earlier restaurant he went to, which is also a Michelin-starred location. Apparently he's not a fan of that place, but he did give high praises to Tempura Motoichi. Towards the end of the service he even told the Chef that he'll be visiting again in the future.

Well, that earlier lunch place he mentioned about, I've been there too but it was like many many years ago, long before that restaurant got the Michelin star. So it's not that fair for me to say anything about the other place at the moment, but I do agree with that Hong Kong visitor that our dinner was great. In fact, I think me and Mister were happy with all the dishes, nothing disappoint or mediocre.

I would definitely recommend Tempura Motoichi for locals if the budget allows. What about foreigner visitors? I think Tempura Motoichi should be a very high bet to try a fine set of tempura dishes outside of Japan. Just come, I say.

Tempura Motoichi currently holds one Michelin star status.

Tempura Motoichi 元一台湾天ぷら

Floor 1, Number 11, Alley 27, Lane 216, Section 4, 

Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District,

Taipei, Taiwan

+886 2 2778 3380

Facebook: Tempura Motoichi Facebook 

Online booking system: Tempura Motoichi inline booking

Opening hours:

Tuesday to Saturday lunch 12:00 noon ~ 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday to Saturday dinner 6:00 p.m. ~ 10:00 p.m.

Sunday and Monday dinner 6:00 p.m. ~ 10:00 p.m.