Hong Shao Rou — Red-Braised Pork Belly

Ingredients

• 2 lb skin-on Pork Belly, in 1½-inch cubes
• 3 tbsp rock sugar or granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 4 slices ginger
• 3 scallions, cut into lengths
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cups hot water

Method

1. Blanch the Pork Belly in boiling water for 3 minutes to purge scum, then drain and pat completely dry.
2. In a heavy pot over medium-low, melt the sugar in the oil until it turns the color of weak tea and smells nutty. Move fast here — from amber to bitter is about fifteen seconds.
3. Add the Pork Belly and turn it in the caramel until every cube is lacquered. Add ginger, scallions, and Shaoxing wine and let it hiss.
4. Pour in both soy sauces, star anise, cinnamon, and enough hot water to nearly cover. Bring to a boil, then drop to the barest simmer, cover, and braise 70 minutes until a chopstick pierces the skin with no resistance.
5. Uncover, raise the heat, and reduce the liquid until it's a syrup that clings to the meat, 8–10 minutes, spooning it over constantly. Rest 5 minutes and serve with plain rice and something green.