Taro

Taro is an ugly tuber. It is misshapen, gnarled, solid and heavy, with a brown, fibrous exterior. Cut the root open and you'll find either pale cream or purple flesh, speckled with fine lines and dots. When buying it, look for firm and heavy pieces with no soft spots. Because the flesh of the taro can irritate the skin and stomach, take care when handling it and wash your hands with soapy water immediately afterwards. The irritating substance is rendered harmless when the taro is cooked.

While taro is a staple starch in the Caribbean and certain parts of Africa, it is rarely eaten in the west, except when it's sliced thin and made into vegetable chips. An exception is in Hawaii, where taro is mashed, fermented and eaten as poi. It is used in the popular Cantonese dim sum dishes, wu tau gok (mashed taro cakes filled with pork and vegetables, then fried) and wu tau goh (mashed taro puddings, popular at Lunar New Year). Some Chinese restaurants serve duck that's steamed, boned and flattened, then covered with a paste made from taro. It's then deep fried before being cut into small pieces. This is a delicious but labour-intensive dish that is rarely seen on menus these days.

Because taro is starchy, with a bland taste and smooth texture, it's best when cooked with strongly flavoured and oily ingredients. My favourite preparation is a Hakka dish, wu tau kau yuk (taro with pork belly). Buy a slab of skin-on pork belly. Rinse the pork, then bring a pot of water to the boil and simmer the meat for a few minutes to get rid of the excess fat. Drain and pat dry. Rub the pork skin with soy sauce. Heat some oil in a skillet and when hot, add the pork, skin side down (it will splatter, so take care). Cook until it is a deep brown, then slice the meat across the grain into 1cm thick pieces. Cut some taro into pieces about the same size as the pork. Layer the pork and taro together in neat, alternating slices and put into a clay pot.

Combine soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, red fermented bean curd and chicken broth or water. Pour this mixture into the clay pot and add a couple of slices of peeled ginger. Cover the pot with the lid, bring to the boil and simmer, basting occasionally, until the pork and taro are tender and the sauce is thick. You can also make this dish with duck.