This is a well-known and beloved Chinese dish with many variations to try. The dish is simple, delicious, rich and can be cooked in 60 minutes. We enjoy hong shao rou served on top of steamed rice with either gai lan or bok choy to balance out the richness of the dish. This is not a difficult recipe, but utilizing mis-en-place will make the preparation so much easier.
Ingredients
Group A
- •700 – 900 grams (1.5 – 2 pounds) pork belly cut in to 2.5 cm (1 inch) squares, skin on
- •2 – 3 scallions, left whole
- •3 slices fresh ginger, left in medallions
Group B
- •40 grams (3 tablespoons) rock sugar or brown sugar
- •30 ml (2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
- •3 slices fresh ginger, left in medallions
For the Braising Liquid:
- •120 ml (½ cup) Shaoxing wine
- •45 ml (3 tablespoons) light soy sauce
- •25 ml (1.5 tablespoons) dark soy sauce
- •950 ml (4 cups) reserved boiling liquid
- •3 - 4 diced scallions, white part only (reserve green part to finish dish)
- •1 cinnamon stick
- •2 star anise
- •1 – 4 dried chili peppers
- •4 bay leaves
- •10 ml (2 teaspoons) powdered or granular chicken broth concentrate
- •2 – 3 garlic cloves (optional)
- •1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) MSG (optional)
To finish and serve:
- •3 - 4 diced scallions, green part only
- •2.5 ml (½ teaspoon) sugar
Preparation
In a large pot, bring 1.4-1.8 liters (6-8 cups) water to a rolling boil before adding all the ingredients in Group A; there should be enough water to cover the meat. Add the pork belly and blanch (simmer) for about 3 minutes. Remove the pork belly, reserving the water. Rinse well under running water, drain, and set aside; discard ginger and scallion pieces. Skim and discard the foam from the pork blanching water, and reserve .9 liter (4 cups) of the liquid.
Dry the meat with paper towel* and cut into bite-sized dice. In a wok over medium-low heat, add sugar and oil from Group B, stirring constantly and adjusting the heat so it melts but does not burn, 4-5 minutes. Once the sugar is melted, add the ginger and the diced pork belly, stirring quickly to coat the meat with the melted sugar and oil. Lightly brown 2 – 3 minutes.
Add the Braising Liquid ingredients to the wok, mixing well. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Allow the mixture to simmer 50 – 60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, watching how the liquid is reducing and checking for the level of heat**. If the sauce reduces too much, add water.
To finish and serve: Remove the lid and increase heat to medium, stirring constantly; the pork belly should have a glistening sauce coating it. Once the sauce is reduced to your desired consistency, remove from heat and pick out the bigger spice pieces to discard. Add the reserved green scallions and sugar. Mix well, and serve.
*This prevents splatter in the next step which is to coat the pork belly in sugar. If you add moisture to hot oil, you will have splatter so dry the meat off best as you can.
***The longer dried chilis cook the hotter they get, so remove them when your level of heat is reached.