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Chinese red-braised pork belly (hong shao rou)
For a truly delicious red-braised pork belly, don't take short cuts. Trim the slab of pork belly so that the thickness is uniform. Parboil the meat and brown in hot oil before braising, and caramelize the sugar to make a good base for the sauce.
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Chinese
Prep Time
10
minutes
minutes
Cook Time
1
hour
hour
50
minutes
minutes
Total Time
2
hours
hours
Servings
3
people
Author
Connie Veneracion
Ingredients
1
kilogram
pork belly
whole
cooking oil
for deep frying
3
tablespoons
sliced scallions
Sauce
2
tablespoons
brown sugar
2
tablespoons
dark soy sauce
2
tablespoons
light soy sauce
2
tablespoons
rice wine
1
cup
bone broth
Spices
1
onion
peeled and thinly sliced
1
two-inch knob
ginger
peeled and sliced
4
cloves
garlic
peeled and lightly pounded
5 to 6
cloves
1
teaspoon
peppercorns
3 to 4
star anise
Instructions
Prep the pork belly
Cut the pork belly crosswise to separate the lower portion with the bones.
Boil about six inches of water in a pan large enough to fit the trimmed pork belly.
Slide the pork belly into the boiling water (you may add the trimmed portions too) and leave to boil over high heat for ten minutes.
Scoop out the meat and rinse well making sure to scrape off any remaining impurities.
Place the parboiled pork belly between stacks of paper towels to remove any surface moisture.
In a wok or fryer, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of three inches.
Slide in the pork belly, skin side up, and cook the meat over high heat until lightly browned.
Turn the pork belly over and continue cooking until the skin is blistered.
Scoop out the pork belly and rest on a rack to cool.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Make the sauce
Spread the sugar in the frying pan.
Melt over medium heat, pour in the soy sauces and rice wine carefully (the mixture will sizzle initially) and swirl.
Pour in the broth and bring to a gentle boil. Cook uncovered for five minutes.
Braise the pork belly
Cover the bottom of a baking dish with the onion slices.
Scatter the rest of the spices over them.
Take the pork belly and cut. Cubes are traditional but slices cook faster.
Arrange the pork belly slices (or cubes) in the baking dish and pour the sauce over them.
Cover the baking dish with aluminium foil (I used two sheets) crimping the edges to seal.
Cook the pork belly at 325F for an hour and half.
Take the pork belly out of the oven and peel off the foil.
Take a ladle, scoop the sauce and pour over the cooked pork belly. Do this repeatedly for a few minutes to give the pork belly better color.
Serve your red-braised pork belly with rice.
Optionally, sprinkle with scallions and arrange blanched bok choy on the side.