RECIPE Red-braised Pork Belly
Serves 6to 8
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/4 cup (2 ounces) rock sugar, crushed
2 pounds skin-on center-cut fresh pork belly, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 (4-inch) piece ginger, sliced into thin rounds 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1tablespoon dark soy sauce 2star anise pods
2cinnamon sticks
1/4 teaspoon table salt 5 cups water
2 scallions, sliced thin
DIRECTIONS
Heat an empty, 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Reduce heat to medium-high, drizzle oil around perimeter of wok and heat until just smoking. Add sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar has melted and mixture is amber-colored, about 1 minute. Carefully add pork belly and cook, tossing slowly but constantly, until fat begins to render and pork begins to brown, about 7 minutes.
Stir in ginger, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon sticks and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until paring knife inserted into pork offers no resistance, 70to 80minutes, flipping pork pieces halfway through cooking. Increase heat to medium-high and vigorously simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened and begins to coat pork, 10to 25minutes. Off heat, let pork rest for 5minutes. Using a wide, shallow spoon, skim excess fat from surface of sauce and remove ginger, star anise and cinnamon sticks. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.
Note: Look for pork belly that is sold as one whole piece, about 2inches thick, with a decent amount of fat. We prefer skin-on pork belly to achieve traditional textures and flavors; if you cannot find skin-on pork, you can use skin-off.
— Kevin Pang and Jeffrey Pang, “A Very Chinese Cookbook: 100 Recipes from China and Not China (But Still Really Chinese)” (America’s Test Kitchen, $35)