Yu Mei's belly pork stew

This warming stew was a favourite recipe of Yu Mei Lim, who was the Chinese grandmother of my editor Madeleine Lim.

1-1.2kg pork belly

1tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

120g root ginger, scraped and finely chopped

120ml rice wine or medium sherry

1tbsp sugar

100ml light soy sauce

4 potatoes, peeled, uncooked

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled

Pre-heat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Cut the pork belly into 4 even-sized pieces and score the rind a few times with a sharp knife and season. Heat the oil in a frying pan and colour the pieces of pork belly on all sides, then transfer to an oven-proof dish or a casserole with a tight-fitting lid. Fry the garlic and ginger in the same frying pan on a low heat for 2-3 minutes then add the rice wine, sugar, soy and enough water to just cover the pork, bring to the boil and pour over the pork. Cover and cook for about 2 hours, until the pork is soft and tender but not falling apart. Add the potatoes and eggs, cover and cook for another 30-40 minutes. Serve with rice.