Chinese Braised Pork Belly Recipes

CHINESE BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Heat Dutch oven or pot with vegetable oil under medium high heat. Add sliced pork belly. Sear on both sides for a few minutes.
• Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine, five spice powder, garlic, water, and red Idaho® potatoes. Add more water if needed to submerge at least 4/5 of the items. Bring to a boil.
• Lower heat to medium low, cover and cook for 50 minutes. Check halfway through, stir, and add more water if the liquid is drying out.
• Remove from heat.
• Serve with rice and enjoy!

BRAISED PORK BELLY - DONG PO MEAT

Steps:

• Cut the pork into 4cm squares. Heat up the wok, put the pork skin side down to dry fry the skin until it becomes slightly brown. Remove.
• Place the pork in a pot of hot water and blanch for three minutes. Remove.
• Lay the spring onions in a crosshatch pattern at the bottom of a medium sized clay pot to form a thick even layer. The spring onions should cover the entire bottom of the pot. Lay the ginger slices evenly over the spring onion.
• Tie the pork pieces with a kitchen string.
• Arrange the pork pieces skin down on top of the spring onions.
• Add the remaining ingredients in B into the clay pot.
• Bring it to a boil with the lid on. When the liquid in the pot starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 90 minutes without stirring it.
• Turn the pork pieces skin-side up in the pot. Cover and simmer for another 90 minutes.
• Transfer the pork pieces to a plate. Remove the strings.
• Drizzle the sauce over the pork. Serve.

CHINESE BRAISED PORK BELLY (HONG SHAO ROU)

Steps:

• In a wide pot or pan, add the three cups of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (the water level should be at least half the thickness of the pork belly). Add the pork belly and parboil for a minute on each side, just until the exterior is a bit firm. Remove the pork belly to a cutting board, and set the hot water aside (don't pour it out!)
• Add the garlic, ginger, star anise, Szechuan peppercorn, and cinnamon stick to the water and keep over low heat (we need this water to be hot since we will be adding it back to the pork and if it gets cold then it might cause the meat to toughen up)
• Cut the pork belly into cubes about 1.5 inches on each side
• In a Dutch oven or large pot, start heating up the oil over medium-low heat. Add 3.5 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Let the sugar sit undisturbed until you see it start to melt. Once it starts melting, you can use a single chopstick to mix it up a bit to speed up the melting process
• When all the sugar has melted and turned into a dark amber color, add the pork belly. Cook while flipping the pieces for a few minutes until almost every side of each piece is covered with the caramel. Be gentle so you don't break the pieces!
• Add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine and cook for a minute. Then add the water with all the spices and aromatics. Braise the pork belly over medium-low heat for 2 hours, stirring once every 30 minutes
• After 2 hours, the pork should be fully tender. You can check by sticking a chopstick into the meat through the bottom. The chopstick should be able to easily pierce the entire piece. If you want it to be more tender, put the lid back on and keep braising until it reaches your desired tenderness
• Remove the lid and raise the heat to medium. Add the remaining 3.5 tablespoons of sugar and mix. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has reduced significantly and thickened up. Stir every few minutes to prevent the meat from burning. You'll know it's done when the sauce is thick enough to start sticking to the meat
• Remove the meat from the pot and then drizzle with some of the extra sauce. Serve hot with a side of rice and vegetables

CHINESE RED-COOKED PORK BELLY, BRAISED

Steps:

• Heat oil in a wok or dutch oven until shimmering.
• Add sugar to oil. Mix constantly until it melts (~370F).
• Add pork belly and sear until golden brown. Stir constantly and scrape bits of sugar that have stuck to the pot. The sugar will burn quickly so pay attention.
• Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, and water. Add ginger and star anise. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer.
• After an 45 minutes to an hour, remove meat to serving bowl. Boil sauce until desired consistency and skim off scum and fat. Pour over meat.
• Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Serve.