In Chinese culture, the new year starts on Feb. 5, the first day in the lunar calendar. We exit the Year of the Dog and enter the Year of the Pig, or Boar, according to the Chinese zodiac.

Why not start the year off right with an old-fashioned southern Chinese classic — kau yuk with taro.

Kau yuk is a pot roast made from succulent belly pork and showcases Cantonese cooking techniques. The meat is marinated, fried, simmered and then steamed to achieve a delicious unctuousness.

At least 75 percent of Hawaii’s Chinese plantation workers came from Zhongshan, an area in Canton (Guangdong), just above Macao. The Sun Yat-Sen Museum in Zhongshan displays foods of those days, and kau yuk and taro is one of the most revered.)

Veteran cooks converge on Chinatown to insist on a cut of pork with five layers of meat and fat — called “five flowers” — crowned with a healthy layer of skin. No lean pieces for these cooks in the know.

For the southern Chinese, pork is the favored meat and belly is one of the prime cuts, if not the ultimate cut.

For those who’d rather not brave the Chinatown new year’s crowds, belly pork is available at most supermarkets for making this delicacy at home.

The tasty marinade gets its distinctive flavor from red fermented tofu, called nam yue. Other ingredients include thick red soy sauce, brown sugar, five spice and rock salt. The red ingredients add a tinge of the good-luck color to the dish.

The pork is paired with Chinese taro, a drier variety compared with Hawaiian taro. The vegetable acts as a sponge to soak up the tasty marinade and pork juices. Some people even prefer the taro over the meat.

If you can’t find Chinese taro, use Hawaiian taro or waxy potatoes such as red, white or yellow. Russets will be too flaky.

John Sau Lee, or Goong Goong, my late grandfather, would make kau yuk and taro often for our extended family. It was his signature dish.

After steaming the pork for two hours, he would cover the hot bowl with another bowl and flip it over, dramatically. This upside- down presentation meant the bottom pieces of meat and taro became the top of the dish, showing off a stunning reddish-brown tone with shining skin.

It’s perfect to eat over hot rice or with tender steamed bao (bread bun).

I’VE SIMPLIFIED Goong Goong’s classic recipe, but it retains his old-time, good-tasting flavors.

GOONG GOONG’S KAU YUK (POT ROAST PORK) WITH TARO

Adapted from “A Chinese Kitchen” by Lynette Lo Tom (Mutual Publishing, 2015)

• 1 pound belly pork with skin, cut in 1/2-inch by 2-1/2-inch slices
• 1 tablespoon thick “red” soy sauce (substitute any soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2-1/2 cubes nam yue (red fermented soy bean curd)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
• 1 teaspoon rock salt
• 1 pound Chinese taro (substitute Hawaiian wet or dryland taro, waxy potatoes or breadfruit)
• Fresh cilantro springs, for garnish

In a saucepan, place sliced pork with water to cover and bring to boil; cook 20 minutes. Drain and rub with soy sauce.

In a large saucepan or skillet, heat oil and sear pork in batches to give it color. Add any remaining soy sauce, nam yue, brown sugar, five spice and rock salt. Add 1/4 cup water and simmer 20 minutes, adding water if needed. Skim fat.

Meanwhile, peel taro and cut into pieces to match size of the pork.

In a bowl that can handle steaming, arrange pork, skin side down, alternating with taro pieces. Use the most attractive pieces on the bottom, as they will be on the top of the finished dish. Put any broken pieces on top.

Place bowl in a steamer over simmering water, cover and steam for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, until pork and taro are tender.

Remove bowl from steamer. Place a similar-sized bowl upside down atop the cooked bowl; flip over. Pork and taro from the steamer dish will turn bottom-up into the second bowl. Skim fat, if needed.

Garnish with parsley and serve with hot rice or with steamed bao (bread buns). Serves 4 to 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (with 3 tablespoons fat skimmed off): 440 calories, 36 g fat, 13 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, at least 650 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 9 g protein.

Lynette Lo Tom, author of “The Chinese Kitchen,” is fascinated by old-fashioned foods. Contact her at 275-3004 or via Instagram at @brightlightcookery. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.