Chinese Braised Pork Belly 2

I had not made this in quite some time and I was craving it. this time there was some adjustments to the recipe and I think some improvement to the flavor.


Braised pork belly (红烧猪肉)

serving: 4

Ingredients:

  • 550-600g pork belly

  • 1-2 clove garlic, sliced

  • 3 stalks spring onion, sectioned

  • 6 tbsp shaoxing wine

  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 2 tbsp brown sugar or rock sugar

  • 1.5-2 cups water

  • 4 hard boiled eggs, shelled

  • tofu knots (optional)

Method:

  1. Cut the pork into cubes of 1 to 1.5 inch size.

  2. heat a little oil in a pan or deep pot (like a casserole stock pot), as the pork will release some oil.  Fry pork until light brown.  (you might have to do it two batches depedning on how large your pan is) (ALso if there is a lot of excess oil from the pork belly, discard the excess oil but leave some to fry the garlic)

  3. Add garlic in the middle and cook until aromatic.  Add wine, light and dark soy sauce, water and sugar.  Bring it to a boil.  

  4. When the sauce boils, add the spring onion, cover and simmer until the pork softens and the sauce reduces by half (approx 45 minutes, but check every 15 mins to prevent burning and you might need to add water if it becomes to dry). 

  5. add the eggs and tofu and continue to simmer until they turn brown (another 10-15 minutes).  if you like a smoother and clearer sauce, sift the garlic and spring onion away through a fine sieve.  Serve hot over white rice.


Why is this dish so good, i could eat it almost every day but my health would DETERIORATE very quickly. this time the flavor was better as i added more of the liquid ingredients which i think also helped to INFILTRATE more of the flavor within the pork belly. i also like the addition of the tofu knots as they do the same in their pork belly dish at my favorite restaurant that serves this dish. you can easily buy it at any asian SUPERMARKET and you just need to soak it in water for 10-15 minutes beforehand. i also served it with some simple stir fried green beans and lotus root to balance out the meal so it wasn’t so meat heavy. a really easy dish that is super tasty, it will sure be a crowd pleaser.