Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables (梅菜扣肉）
- Wei Heng
- Sep 2
- 3 min read
Aunty Siam stepped into the studio of The Meatmen Channel, not as a professional chef, but as a mother, daughter, and Hakka woman with a lifetime of flavours to share. The dish she chose to cook was one that carried generations of memory: 梅菜扣肉 (Mei Cai Kou Rou) — Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens.
This wasn’t just another recipe. It was a tribute to where she came from, what she carried with her, and the way food became her language of love, survival, and home.
👵 Aunty Siam: One Woman’s Journey
When Aunty Siam arrived in Singapore over 30 years ago, she came alone. The eldest child, the one who had to shoulder the burden of supporting her family, she left home not for adventure — but for responsibility.
And like many migrants, the first thing she missed wasn’t things — it was food.
Without her mother or grandmother beside her, she would call home to ask for instructions: "How do you make that pork dish again?", "What’s the step after soaking the mei cai?", "Why did you always fry it twice?"
Over time, the phone calls became notebooks. The notebooks became muscle memory and Aunty Siam — ever precise, ever caring — began tweaking, refining, and reimagining the recipes in her tiny rented kitchen.
She started cooking for herself, then for colleagues, then for friends’ families, and finally for the wider community. From baking pineapple tarts during Chinese New Year, to preparing 坐月子 (postpartum confinement) meals, she slowly built a name for herself — not as a chef, but as the mum everyone wished was theirs.
She’s watched Singapore grow from kampongs to hawker centres to high-rises. And what she never imagined was that, decades later, she'd be standing in front of a camera — sharing her life and food with the nation, through the lens of The Meatmen.
🍲 The Dish: Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables (梅菜扣肉）
Aunty Siam chose to share Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables (梅菜扣肉), not because it was the flashiest, but because it’s authentically Hakka, and unapologetically humble.
The preserved mustard greens (梅菜) are rinsed, fermented, washed, and hand-massaged repeatedly to remove bitterness while preserving depth.
The pork belly (扣肉) is blanched, flash-fried, and then slow-braised with soy, ginger, and aromatics until fork-tender.
This dish isn’t sweet. It isn’t trendy. It’s salt-forward, earthy, and full-bodied — designed to last long journeys, comfort the hardworking, and bring the family together around a single claypot.
Unlike Kong Bak Bao(扣肉包), which is more commonly sweet-savoury and served in fluffy buns, Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables (梅菜扣肉) is saltier, earthier, and deeply tied to Hakka heritage. It’s made to last, to comfort, and to remind you where you came from.
🎥 Captured by The Meatmen
In her own gentle voice, Aunty Siam shared stories during the shoot — stories of childhood, of missing home, of trying to cook from memory.She moved slowly, deliberately, the way only someone who’s made a dish 100 times with love would.
We are so grateful to The Meatmen for offering her the chance to share what was once only known to her children and close friends. Now, the world gets to know it too.
🙏 Our Thanks
To every person who watched, shared, or messaged after seeing the video — thank you. Your support reminds us that heritage is worth preserving, and that humble food carries the loudest stories.
📽 Watch the Meatmen video here
📷 Follow AuntySiam on Instagram
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