This recipe for Hakka Pork Belly with Taro (芋頭扣肉) is a traditional comforting Chinese Hakka dish, featuring the savory, umami flavors of deep-fried pork belly layered with slices of taro.

However, “the French were unfamiliar with the concept of pork sliced into a certain thickness and being deep-fried,” Waki said. She had difficulty getting her order right. For example ...