Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Nyonya Satay Babi Sum Chan Recipe – Faster and More Tender

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Satay Babi Sum Chan is a classic Peranakan (Nyonya) pork belly dish. Despite its name, it is completely different from skewered and grilled Malay satay – there are no skewers and no peanuts. Instead, it features succulent pork belly slowly simmered in a rich, heavily spiced coconut gravy.

The Meat: The term Sum Chan (or Sam Chan) translates to “three layers” in Hokkien, referring to layered pork belly. The meat is slow-cooked for hours until the fat is melt-in-your-mouth tender.

The Sauce: Unlike regular peanut satay sauce, the gravy is made by pounding a fragrant spice paste (rempah). It typically includes ingredients like shallots, lemongrass, candlenuts, dried chillies, and belacan (fermented shrimp paste), all simmered with coconut milk. The sauce is rich, nutty (from the candlenuts, not peanuts), spicy, and highly savory.

Because the flavor is incredibly rich, deep, and slightly sweet from the melting pork fats, it is almost always served with piping hot, steamed white rice. It is a staple of Nyonya comfort food, often showcasing the beautiful intersection of Chinese cooking techniques and Malay spices.

This dish takes about 1½ to 2 hours of cooking time over medium heat for the pork to be really soft and tender. Cooking with my Instant Pot can reduce the cooking time to only 25 minutes of pressure cooking. The result is a fragrant tender pork dish covered in flavourful rich spice sauce.

To learn how to make this Peranakan dish, please click on the image below to view my video tutorial. 

If you like my video, please support me by clicking on the red “Subscribe” button on my YouTube channel. 

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YouTube link: https://youtu.be/jpjkWhiRJiM

https://youtu.be/jpjkWhiRJiM
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Instant Pot Peranakan Satay Babi Sum Chan

 Cooking with Instant Pot can reduce the cooking time to only 25 minutes of pressure cooking.
Author Shiokman Eddie

Ingredients

  • 1 kg pork belly
  • 300 ml coconut milk
  • 250 ml water

Rempah (Spice Paste)

  • 300 g small onions
  • 3 stalks lemongrass
  • 37 g dried chillies soaked
  • 25 g candlenuts
  • 40 g belacan
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100 ml water

Instructions

  • Cut and soak dried chillies until softened.
  • Cut small onions, candlenuts, belacan and lemongrass into small pieces.
  • Grind all the spices into a fine paste.
  • Cut pork belly into small chunks.
  • Marinate the pork belly with the spice paste and refrigerate for a few hours.
  • Switch on the main switch for the Instant Pot.
  • Press the “Saute” button and wait for the display to show “On”.
  • Pour a generous amount of cooking oil and pour the marinated pork belly into the pot.
  • Fry for about 10 mins until the spice paste is cooked.
  • Pour coconut milk with water and mix thoroughly.
  • Close and lock the lid by twisting clockwise. Press the “Cancel” button to stop sauteing.
  • Press the “Meat/Stew” button and set the timer for 25 minutes.
  • Plunger will pop up when fully pressurised. Timer will start to count down from 25 minutes to 0 minute.
  • Release pressure by pressing the quick release button. Plunger will drop back to its unpressurised state. Unlock the lid by turning counter clockwise.
  • Add salt to the paste and mix thoroughly.
  • Press the “Saute” button and cook for another 10 mins if you want the gravy to be further reduced and thicker.
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