Chinese Red Cooked Pork Belly Braised Recipes

SLOW-COOKED RED BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add pork belly; cook until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Drain.
• Heat vegetable oil and brown sugar in a wok or large skillet over medium heat until sugar is melted. Add pork; cook until browned on all sides, about 2 minutes. Add dark soy sauce; cook and stir until flavors combine, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer pork mixture to a slow cooker. Add rice wine, light soy sauce, scallions, ginger, and star anise. Pour in enough water to just cover the pork.
• Cook on Low until pork is tender, about 6 hours. Add diced chicken substitute, hard-boiled eggs, and more water to cover.
• Cook on Low until eggs absorb cooking liquid, rotating halfway through, about 1 hour more.

CHAIRMAN MAO'S RED BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• The first step is to blanch the pork belly, which removes any blood or impurities from the meat. To do this, add the pork belly and 3 slices of ginger to a pot with enough cold water to submerge the pork belly. With the lid on, bring it to a boil. Once the pot boils, turn down the heat and simmer for one more minute. Drain, rinse the pork belly clean, and set aside.
• With the wok set over low heat, add the oil and rock sugar (or 3 tablespoons regular sugar). Slowly melt the sugar, taking care to not let it burn. Then add in the pork belly, 3 slices ginger, and the white parts of the scallions. Turn up the heat to medium. Stir and coat the pork belly with the melted sugar.
• Now, add the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cinnamon, star anise, bay leaves, dried chili peppers, and water. Stir and make sure everything is submerged. There will be some caramelized sugar on your spatula, dissolve it in the water before covering the wok. Bring the mixture up to a simmer over medium low heat for 1 hour. Check the pork periodically to make sure the sauce doesn't dry up.
• Once the pork is to your liking in terms of tenderness, turn up the heat to cook off any excess sauce, stirring constantly. The sauce will reduce to a glistening coating on the pork belly. Last, add in the remaining ½ teaspoon sugar and the green parts of the scallions. Stir quickly and serve!

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.