There is really no real recipe for kiam chai boey. It’s literally take any leftover meats and stew it with a few heads of Chinese mustard greens – which is really all stems, hardly any leave mustard leaves. Add some assam keping, which is not truly a tamarind but a sour fruit for acid, and a dried chili or two for heat.
In the “olden” days, we would make this dish after a big feast where there will be plenty of leftover meats. Those wings and necks of roast chicken and pig trotters from a wedding ceremony. I love this dish so much that whenever I see Chinese mustard greens in the store, my mouth starts to water at the thought of making this dish. These days, I don’t get to go to many wedding ceremonies, so I would just stop by my favorite roast pork / duck store and buy some meat and cook it with the roasted meats. My favorite “siem mei” store in SF is of course, Kam Hoong (I think that’s the name) on Powell and Broadway. Though the soup nazi butcher isn’t exactly my favorite person.
1 lb roast pork, cut into pieces
1/2 roast duck, cut into pieces
2 heads Chinese mustard
5 slices assam keping/ sour fruit (substitute with acid of choice)
2 pieces dried chile
Salt to taste
Place all in a pot, top with water to cover and braise 1 -2 hours. That’s it.
