Eel braised with green banana and tofu comes down to the pot itself, where rich eel, starchy green banana and fried tofu all soak up the golden turmeric. Mam tom and rice vinegar give it a character all its own, and it is best hot with white rice. The hardest part is the green banana, which turns bitter and dark if handled carelessly.
Cut banana goes straight into water, gets a quick blanch in boiling water with lime juice, then is tossed with turmeric juice while still hot so the color takes evenly. The pork belly needs to be stir fried until firm and its fat rendered first, because adding it at the same time as the eel leaves the pot smelling fishy.
This batch weighs about 1.3kg, at roughly 152 calories per 100g.
Method
Cut 300g eel into 3cm lengths and season with 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric juice, 1 tablespoon minced shallot and garlic, 1 teaspoon MSG, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend.
Cut 100g pork belly into bite sized pieces and season with the same amounts: 1 tablespoon turmeric juice, 1 tablespoon minced shallot and garlic, 1 teaspoon MSG, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend.
Cut the green bananas into lengths, soak them in water, blanch in boiling water with a squeeze of lime, drain, then toss immediately with 2 tablespoons turmeric juice while still hot.
Shred the betel leaves and perilla leaves. Cut 200g fried tofu into small cubes.
Fry the minced shallot and garlic until fragrant, then stir fry the pork belly until firm and the fat has rendered.
Add the eel, then the banana, and braise for about 5 minutes. Add the tofu, 2 bird's eye chilies, 2 tablespoons mam tom, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar and 1 bowl of water, cover and braise for another 10 minutes.
Stir in the perilla, betel leaves and shredded chili, turn off the heat and serve hot with white rice.
Tips
Tossing the banana with turmeric juice while it is still hot makes the yellow take evenly and keeps it from darkening.
Stir fry the pork belly until firm and the fat has rendered before braising, which makes the pot richer and glossier.
Rub the eel with coarse salt and strip off the slime, then rinse several times to get rid of the fishy smell.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so add it to the marinade from the start and the pork and eel take it up evenly.
Braise at a bare simmer, since a rolling boil breaks the banana apart and strips the skin off the eel.
Add the betel and perilla leaves right before the heat goes off to keep their aroma.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.