Cook’s notes
For a truly delicious red-braised pork belly, don’t take short cuts.
Trim the meat so that the thickness is uniform from all sides. If the ribs are attached, cut them off and reserve for another dish.
Parboil the pork belly and brown in hot oil before braising, and caramelize the sugar to make a good base for the sauce.
While parboiling removes scum, browning creates texture. A light crust forms on the surface of the meat during this stage. That is a desirable thing, that light crust, because that prevents the meat from acquiring the sensation of eating boiled meat.
Now this isn’t deep fried crispy pork belly. You’re browning the meat and blistering the skin a bit to give them texture. Don’t wait until the skin turns into a crackling. You don’t need it to get crispy because you’re going to cook the pork belly in liquid anyway.
The pork belly is only partially cooked even after browning. The center is still pink but the surface is firm enough to slice the meat without the edges getting frayed.
The meat is now ready for braising. While you may easily cook this dish on the stovetop from start to finish, I use the oven for convenience. Less evaporation means better flavor concentration. Here’s how I do it.
Chinese red-braised pork belly (hong shao rou)
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram boneless pork belly (2.2 pounds) 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
- 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 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 partially cooked 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.
- Optionally, sprinkle with scallions. Serve your red-braised pork belly with rice.
Thai fish coconut cream soup (tom kha pla)
