Kitchen Recipe Collection
Red Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou)
The Chairman's favorite dish. Incredible sticky, sweet, and savory cubes of pork belly that melt in your mouth, braised in soy sauce, wine, and caramelized sugar.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 90 min
- Total
- 105 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- medium
- Cuisine
- Chinese
Ingredients
Scaled for 4 servings
- 800g skin-on pork belly, cut into 1.5-inch cubes
- 3 tbsp rock sugar
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 cup Shaoxing wine
- 3 slices ginger
- 2 scallions, cut into sections
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 dried red chilies
- Water
Equipment
- Wok
- Dutch oven or claypot
Instructions
- 1
Blanch Pork
Place the pork cubes in cold water, bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove and rinse thoroughly under cold water.
- 2
Sear Pork
Heat a wok over medium heat with 1 tsp oil. Sear the pork cubes until they are golden brown on all sides and some fat has rendered. Remove pork.
- 3
Caramelize Sugar
In the remaining fat, add the rock sugar. Melt it over low heat until it turns into a bubbling, reddish-brown caramel (be careful not to burn it).
- 4
Coat Pork
Immediately toss the pork back into the wok, stirring rapidly to coat the cubes in the hot caramel. This gives them their iconic red color.
- 5
Add Aromatics
Add the ginger, scallions, star anise, cinnamon, and chilies. Toss for 1 minute.
- 6
Add Liquids
Pour in the Shaoxing wine to deglaze the wok, followed by the light and dark soy sauces.
- 7
Add Water
Add enough hot water to just barely cover the pork cubes.
- 8
Simmer
Bring to a boil, then transfer everything to a heavy pot or claypot. Cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 60 to 90 minutes.
- 9
Check Doneness
The pork is done when a chopstick can pierce the skin easily. The fat should look translucent.
- 10
Reduce Sauce
Remove the lid. Turn the heat up to medium-high to reduce the sauce.
- 11
Glaze
Stir gently as the sauce thickens into a sticky, glossy glaze that coats the meat tightly. Do not walk away at this stage; it burns easily.
- 12
Serve
Serve immediately with steamed rice and blanched greens to cut the richness.
Cooking Tips
- Rock sugar is crucial for the glossy shine that granulated sugar cannot replicate.
- Melting the sugar in oil to coat the pork (sugar coloring) is a traditional Chinese technique called 'Tang Se'.
Variations
- Add Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs or quail eggs are often added halfway through the braise to soak up the sauce.
Nutrition Estimate
650 calories · 18g protein · 12g carbs · 55g fat · 1g fiber per serving
