Photo: N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hong Shao Rou (Red-Braised Pork Belly)
Pork belly braised low and slow in caramel and soy until red and glossy — one of China's most-loved dishes. The fat melts to a silky jelly and the meat turns tender, all wrapped in a sweet-savory sauce made for rice.
Ingredients
- Pork belly · in one piece, skin-on if possible600 g
- Green onion · in chunks1 stalk
- Ginger4 slices
- Garlic3 cloves
- Star anise2
- Dried red chili · optional2
- Cooking oil1 tbsp
- Sauce
- Sugar · rock sugar for extra gloss3 tbsp
- Soy sauce2 tbsp
- Dark soy sauce · for color1 tbsp
- Shaoxing wine3 tbsp
- Hot water2 cups
- Salt · to taste
Steps
- ⏲ 7 min
Cut the pork belly into 3cm cubes and blanch 3 minutes in boiling water to remove impurities, then rinse.
- ⏲ 3 min
Melt the sugar in a little oil over low heat until it turns amber caramel — watch it doesn't burn.
- ⏲ 4 min
Add the pork and stir to coat in the caramel, browning the surfaces.
- ⏲ 2 min
Add the wine, soy sauce, and dark soy, then the green onion, ginger, garlic, star anise, and chili.
- ⏲ 50 min
Pour in hot water to just cover, bring to a boil, cover, and braise on low 45-60 minutes.
- ⏲ 7 min
When the pork is tender, uncover and reduce over high heat until the sauce glazes the meat.
- ⏲ 30 sec
Top with sliced green onion. Serve with hot rice.
Tips & Variations
Variations
- With eggs: Braise boiled eggs alongside to soak up the sauce.
- With potato or radish: Add for a brothier braise.
- Dongpo style: Use larger pieces and steam long until chopstick-tender.
- Spicy: Add doubanjiang or more dried chili.
Tips
- Blanch the pork first to remove impurities for a clean-tasting sauce.
- Caramelizing the sugar and coating the pork is the key to the red gloss and depth.
- Braise low and slow so the fat turns silky and jelly-soft.
- A final high-heat reduction lacquers the sauce onto the meat.
The basics behind this dish
- What Sugar Does Besides SweetenCutting the sugar does not just cut sweetness. Colour, moisture, structure, and the counterweight to salt and acid — which is why savoury dishes call for it too.
- Thickening a Sauce: Starch, Roux, and ReductionSlurry, roux, reduction — three methods that do not give the same result. Why a starch-thickened sauce thins on reheating, and why the slurry has to be mixed cold.
- Alcohol in Cooking: What It Actually DoesAlcohol is a solvent for aroma, it does not all cook off, mirin and sake and shaoxing and wine each do a different job, and there is a real substitution ratio when you have none.
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