Soy Sauce Braised Pork Belly
In this classic Shanghai braise, chunks of pork belly soak up sweetened soy fragrant with five-spice. The meat burnishes to deep red, a lucky color for new year’s celebrations, and becomes infused with flavor. This is a variation on my grandma's recipe, which she would serve in small bowls over rice.Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork belly, ideally skin on, cut into 1-in cubes (can substitute chicken thigh, legs)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp black bean, gluten-free soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Xiaoxing cooking wine, or bourbon / brandy
- 1 stick of cinnamon, 3-4 star anise
- 1 chopped carrot
- 1 clove of garlic, for taste while boiling pork belly
Ready in | 15 minutes (prep), 4 hours (stewing)Yield | Portion for 4 people
Preparation
Note: The same technique applies for a boeuf borgonon or coq au vin. Substitute soy sauce with wine as the braise, and ripe tomatoes or tomato paste as extra umami flavors.
Preparation
- Fill a large saucepan with water and add a clove of garlic. Bring to a boil and drop pork belly cubes. Return to boil and cook until scum appears and the water returns to a boil. Drain, discard garlic clove, set aside. (If using chicken, no need to do this)
- In a Dutch oven, melt the sugar in soy sauce. Once melted, sear pork belly skin side down in a single layer. Cook until caramel, about 5 minutes. (If using chicken, just briefly brown the skin)
- The brown color from soy sauce should have crept up the pork belly ⅓ of the way up; add cooking wine, carrots, star anise and cinnamon. Cover pork with water (or beer) until all pork is submerged.
- Simmer (leave on low heat) for 2 hours at minimum. It’s ready when a chopstick can easily slide through meat, fat and skin. 4-4½ hours is ideal.
- It’s even better if you make it ahead of time: Refrigerate and reheat before serving, after skimming the congealed fat. Serves ~2 people every 1 lb of meat you have; this serves 4.
Note: The same technique applies for a boeuf borgonon or coq au vin. Substitute soy sauce with wine as the braise, and ripe tomatoes or tomato paste as extra umami flavors.
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