Bai

Name: Bai
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2-3 servings
Cuisine: Mizo
Ingredients: 200 grams pork belly, cut into small pieces; 100 grams Mustard Green, chopped; 1 cup Bamboo Shoot, sliced; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 Onion, chopped; 2 cloves Garlic, minced; 1 inch Ginger, sliced; 2 Green Chili, slit; salt, to taste; water, as needed

The defining dish of Mizo cuisine — mustard greens, raw banana, yam, or taro boiled together in a single pot with pieces of pork fat, sometimes seasoned with a spoonful of fermented soybean paste (bekang). Almost no spice, no oil beyond what renders from the pork. Eaten at every Mizo meal, three times a day, the liquid drunk as a soup alongside rice.

Cuisines

Mizo

Best for

Lunch Dinner

Recipe

Prep: 15 min Cook: 35 min Total: 50 min 2-3 servings

Ingredients

	200 grams	Pork belly , cut into small pieces
	100 grams	Mustard Green , chopped
	1 cup	Bamboo Shoot , sliced
	1 teaspoon	Baking soda
	1	Onion , chopped
	2 cloves	Garlic , minced
	1 inch	Ginger , sliced
	2	Green Chili , slit
	—	Salt , to taste
	—	Water , as needed

Instructions

1 In a pot, add the pork belly pieces and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
2 Add chopped onion, garlic, ginger, and green chilies to the pot.
3 Add the bamboo shoot slices and mustard greens to the pot.
4 Sprinkle the baking soda into the pot and stir well.
5 Season with salt to taste and add more water if needed to ensure everything is submerged.
6 Cover and let it simmer on low heat for about 20-25 minutes until the pork is tender and the flavors are well combined.
7 Adjust seasoning if necessary and serve hot.

Tips

For a vegetarian version, omit the pork and add more greens or mushrooms.