Braised Pork Belly (红烧肉)

Judging from the picture above, I wouldn’t have to say much. Each chunk of meat is coated with the sticky sweet and salty sauce. Tender and juicy in every bite that goes perfectly well with your steamed rice. So be prepared to ditch your diet for today because you will definitely go for another serving of rice =). Here is my version that I would like to share with you.

Ingredients

  • 10g sliced ginger
  • 1 pc star anise
  • 2 pcs bay leaf
  • 10g spring onion (green part)
  • 70g-80g rock sugar
  • 10g minced garlic
  • 100g Chinese wine
  • water
  • 50g light soy sauce
  • 20g dark soy sauce
  • 1 kg pork belly (sliced into chunks )

Note : I use dutch oven to cook this one. Dutch oven retains heat better, resulting in faster cooking time.

Method

  • Turn on the fire at high heat to heat up your dutch oven, add in the rock sugar to melt; wait for it to caramelise. As it is starting to turn light brown, turn down the heat to medium high. Add in the meat, let each meat coat some of the caramel. Continue to stir fry all the sides of the meat until it is light brown. Now deglaze the dutch oven by pouring in the Chinese wine. This is will remove the brown bits that would add extra flavour to your dish.
  • Add in the ginger, star anise, bay leaf and spring onion. sauté for a couple of seconds then add in the water. The water should be enough to cover your meat . I added 1-liter of water to mine.
  • Add in the light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Let it come to boil
  • Cover and turn down to the lowest heat. I prefer to use my smallest burner and turn down the heat at low to let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the meat soften. Add some water if the water dries up and the meat is still not tender.
  • Turn up the heat to high to reduce the sauce. As the sauce reduce, it will thicken up.
  • Serve it with steam rice

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