Easy Braised Pork Belly
This braised pork belly tutorial is a beginner-proof recipe. Delicious with rice and hard to stop eating, fragrant and glutinous, with an irresistible color that is rich but not greasy. Recommend serving with rice.
Ingredients and Tools
- Note: If possible, please sharpen your knife as much as you can.
- Main ingredients: pork (pork belly), eggs (optional), tofu skin (optional)
- Seasonings: ginger, rock sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, bay leaves, star anise, salt, water, scallion (remember to use boiling water)
Measurements
- Pork belly: about 3~4 jin
- Ginger: 6 slices
- Rock sugar: 15 g (about 7 pieces)
- Light soy sauce: 10ml
- Dark soy sauce: 15ml
- Cooking wine: 5ml
- Boiling water: enough to cover the ingredients, need 600ml-900ml
- Bay leaves: 3 leaves
- Star anise: 2 pieces
- Quail eggs (optional; if no quail eggs, use chicken eggs of the same weight instead): 0-2
- Tofu skin (optional): 0-80g
- Salt: 2-3g
Steps
- Cut pork belly into large chunks (about 4.5cm; freezing for half an hour to one hour makes it easier to cut)
- Cut tofu skin into 2cm widths
- Slice ginger (each slice about 3mm thick)
- Bring water to a boil
- Boil quail eggs and poke holes with a fork/toothpick (the more holes the better for flavor)
- Use the white part of the scallion, start cooking
- Put the cut pork belly into a pot with cold water, add cooking wine and scallion and ginger, boil for 15 minutes to remove odor
- Put two slices of ginger into the pot to add aroma
- Turn to medium-low heat and add the pork belly directly, no need to add cooking oil; sear all six sides of each piece until it renders fat
- Pour out the rendered fat and set aside, then push the pork belly to one side and add 15g rock sugar, stir-fry until the sugar melts;
- After melting, stir-fry the pork belly with the sugar until evenly coated and colored, add
- Light soy sauce 10ml
- Dark soy sauce 15ml
- Cooking wine 5ml
- Stir-fry until colored;
- Add the boiled water and braise for 40 minutes (if your knife work is poor and the pieces are too big, extend the braising time), and add
- Ginger 2 slices
- Bay leaves 3 leaves
- Star anise 2 pieces
- Cover and bring to a boil, then add the boiled quail eggs with holes and the tofu skin, keep on medium-low heat and wait 40 minutes. (Stir occasionally to prevent sticking);
- Open the lid, and when the sauce is almost gone, turn to high heat to reduce the sauce (do not reduce it dry);
- Add 2-3g salt, stir-fry a bit, and it is ready to serve.