China · Anhui
Anhui-Style Red-Braised Pork
Cubes of pork belly caramelized in sugar and slow braised with five-spice until the sauce is glossy and thick as lacquer.
Red-braised pork from Anhui leans harder on sugar than the northern versions do, which is why the finished sauce comes close to a lacquer. The five-spice powder goes in late, with the wine and the scallion, so its aroma does not burn off along the way. Anhui cooking grew out of merchant households feeding large families, so the quantities here are generous.
Ingredients
- pork belly300 g
- white sugar100 g
- cooking oil200 g
- light soy sauce10 ml
- oyster sauce5 ml
- dark soy sauce5 ml
- ginger slices2 pieces
- garlic cloves3 pieces
- cooking wine100 ml
- scallion1 pieces
- five-spice powder10 g
- salt10 g
Directions
- 1
Cut the pork belly into pieces of two to three centimeters.
- 2
Add one hundred fifty milliliters of oil to the pot, add the pork belly and fry for two minutes, then add the salt and stir-fry for another two minutes before turning it out.
- 3
Add fifty milliliters of oil to the pot and add the white sugar, stirring until it turns coffee colored.
- 4
Add the pork belly and stir-fry for thirty seconds, then add the ginger slices and garlic and stir-fry for another thirty seconds.
- 5
Add the cooking wine, five-spice powder and scallion, add water to cover the pork and cover the pot to cook for ten minutes.
- 6
Add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and oyster sauce and cook over medium heat for twenty minutes.
- 7
Uncover, raise the heat to reduce the sauce and serve.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.