Braised Pork Belly Recipe - Hong Shao Rou (红烧肉)

Today, we are making Hong Shao Rou (红烧肉). Rou means meat; in this recipe, it often refers to pork belly. Hong Shao means red braise. It is a Chinese cooking method that usually involves caramelizing sugar to give the food a significant red color. Every family has their own way of making Hong Shao Rou, so I am excited to share my version. It is easy, beginner-friendly, and super delicious. So, let's get started.

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INGREDIENTS

1kg (2.2 lb) of pork belly
3-4 inches of ginger
10-12 scallions
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/3qnXF3a)
2 pieces of dried red chilies (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/3mKbpU1)
1 small piece of cinnamon stick (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/33yZi4A)
1/4 of a nutmeg (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/37rVRxt)
1 star anise (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/33DNuOt)
2-3 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine (for blanching) (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/39Btf7B)
2.5 tbsp of sugar
2-3 cups of water
4 tbsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link - https://amzn.to/3qn1JRu)
4 tbsp of chines cooking wine (for braising)
1/3 tsp of salt
Add more sugar to taste (I used 1.5 tsp)
Serve with blanched baby bok choy


INSTRUCTIONS

Cut 1kg of skin-on pork belly into 1.5 inches by 2 inches cuboids. The length that is parallel with the muscle grains should be 2 inches. The width that is across the muscle grains should be 1.5 inches. That way, you will end up with perfect pork cubes after it is cooked.

Fill a pot with cold water. Add the pork belly, the root and the top messy parts of the green onion, 6-8 slices of ginger, and a drizzle of Chinese cooking wine (2-3 tbsp). If you can't cook with alcohol, you can throw in a few pieces of orange peel here.

Turn the heat to high and bring the pot to a boil. Skim the scum by using a fine sieve. Fish out the aromatics and discard them. Take the pork out. Make sure you drain out all the liquid, or you can let the pork sit on a strainer to get rid of the access liquid. This is important because we will sear the pork slightly, and any moisture will make the oil splatter. Set it aside

Cut 10-12 scallions in half. Slice 2-3 inches of ginger into thin pieces. Place the scallion and the ginger slices at the bottom of a clay pot. If you don't have a clay pot, a dutch oven will work just as well.

I reserved 3 stalks of the white part of the scallions and 6 slices of ginger on the side. Roughly dice the scallions. Crush 5-6 cloves of garlic and peel them. Put everything in a bowl. Besides that, you want to gather some spices: 1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns, 2 pieces of dried red chilies, A small piece of cinnamon stick, 1/4 of a nutmeg, 1 star anise. I put them all together because they will go into the wok at the same time.

Turn the heat to medium-low. Add all the pork into the wok, then stir it for 5-6 minutes. Render a little bit of fat out and slightly char the pork. Toss in all the aromatics and stir them for a few minutes or until fragrant.

Turn off the heat. Transfer the pork and the aromatics into the clay pot. Put the pork skin side down.

Leave a little bit fat in the wok. Add the sugar and stir constantly. Once it turned into dark amber color, pour in 3 cups of water and bring the pot to a boil.

Pour the caramelized sugar liquid into the clay pot along with 4 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine and 4 tbsp of soy sauce. Place a small plate on top of the pork and simmer it for 1.5 hours.

Turn off the heat. Remove the little plate. Pick out all the scallion and ginger. Give it a taste to adjust the flavor. I do need to add 1/3 tsp of salt and 1.5 tsp of sugar here.

For plating, I like to serve it with some blanched baby bok choy, which is really simple. You just add some salt and oil to the water and cook the baby bok choy for about 20 seconds. They are great to balance the fattiness of the pork belly. The pork is so delicate that I have to transfer them to the bowl individually so I don't break them.

Check how much sauce you have left. If you have too much, you can reduce it a little bit. Pour the sauce over the pork belly and top with a little bit of scallion.

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