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Close up of braised pork belly

Red Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou 紅燒肉)

Delicious, glossy, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly with an aromatic and flavoursome sticky sauce to drizzle over many many bowls of rice! This traditional and authentic red braised pork belly (or in Chinese, 'hong shao rou') is rich, sweet, salty, savoury with an ever so subtle heat that will have you going for seconds!
4.84 from 12 votes
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 703kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 kg pork belly
  • 6 cloves garlic large, peeled
  • 5 cm / 2 inches ginger sliced
  • 2 spring onions cut into 5cm/2inch lengthwise
  • 3 tablespoon crystal sugar or white sugar (note 1)
  • 2 tablespoon shaoxing wine substitute: dry sherry
  • tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oil neutral-tasting

Spices

  • 3 - 4 dried chilli
  • 3 star anise
  • 1 cinnamon bark
  • 2 bay leaves

Instructions

Prepare (remove impurities) and cut the pork belly

  • Submerge the pork belly in a pot of cold water and bring the pot up to a boil on high heat. This will take about 10 minutes. White/grey scum (impurities) will float to the top.
  • Discard the pot of water and rinse the pork belly under the tap, removing any impurities. Pat the pork dry with paper towels.
  • With a sharp knife, cut the pork belly into large chunks. See video or step by step images in the post above for reference. (note 2)
  • Pat dry the pork belly chunks thoroughly again. (important! note 3)

Braise the pork belly

  • Add crystal sugar with oil into a large non-stick pan. Dissolve sugar on low heat, stirring regularly.
  • Once the sugar has melted and begun to caramelise, add in ginger. Gently stir for about 30 seconds.
  • Add in pork belly and spread it out into a single layer. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Flip the pork belly every minute or so for about 6 minutes.
  • By now, the pork should be glossy and caramelised by the sugar. Deglaze the pan with shaoxing wine. Stir occasionally for about 1 minute.
  • Add spring onions and whole garlic cloves, stir fry for about 30 seconds. Then, add in soy sauces and spices. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
  • Transfer pork belly mixture into a medium-sized heavy-based pot with a lid. I used a cast-iron pot (clay pot is also a great option). Add in 2 cups of water.
  • Bring up to a boil then place the lid on and simmer on the lowest heat possible for 1.5 hours (note 4). No need to stir the pot whilst braising.
  • To finish off, remove the lid and reduce the sauce by about ½ on high heat. This will take about 3 - 5 minutes.
  • Serve with rice and preferred Asian greens!

Video

Notes

1. Use Chinese crystal sugar or white sugar to caramelise the pork. Just like making caramel for a dessert, you don't want to use brown sugar. It burns way too easily and you'll end up with an unpleasant bitter after taste.
2. Cut the pork belly the right way. Make sure that each piece of pork has a layer of skin, fat and meat. This is key to juicy, deliciousness at every single mouthful!
3. Pat the pork dry before frying in caramel. Perhaps the most important tip I cannot stress enough! Water drops in hot caramel and fatty pork is a disaster waiting to happen - it'll make the caramel spit and ouch it does hurt!
4. Braise on the lowest heat possible for tender soft bites. I do not recommend using a pressure cooker to speed up the process. For the most delicious, succulent and tender pork with melt-in-your-mouth fat, long and slow is key.
Use the best quality soy sauce you can afford. This is a good to have but not a deal-breaker. However, quality soy sauces with complexity do make a notable difference to any soy sauce based braises. See the post above under the 'Ingredients' section for my recommended (not sponsored) brands.
Make ahead/leftovers/reheating - like all braised dishes, hong shao rou gets better with time. You'll find the pork will taste even better the next day, making it the perfect dish to cook a day in advance! To reheat, use a microwave or on the stove. If the sauce seems a little too reduced and thick when reheating, simply add in some water and loosen it up. This dish keeps well for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and 2 - 6 months in the freezer stored in airtight containers.
Slow cooker/crock-pot method (do not recommend pressure cooker) - follow the recipe as is up until step 9 in the recipe card below. Then, transfer the pork mixture into the slow cooker, add 2 cups of water then cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. Just before serving, reduce the sauce by about half on high heat in the slow cooker. If browning/sautee function is not available, reduce the sauce on the stove. A pressure cooker is not recommended as the pork belly will come out tough, not tender and  succulent.
Tried this recipe?Mention @Casuallypeckish or tag #casuallypeckish!

Nutrition

Calories: 703kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 68g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 641mg | Potassium: 285mg | Sugar: 7g | Iron: 1mg