Home-style braised pork

Overview

There are countless recipes for braised pork, and everyone has their own way of doing it. But after searching around the kitchen and flipping through a few pages, I couldn't find the same braised pork I usually make, so I recorded my own version. To sum up, when I make braised pork, firstly, I don’t blanch it, secondly, I don’t add oil, and thirdly, I don’t fry the sugar color (or in other words: I don’t specifically fry the sugar color). It's all done in one pot from beginning to end. There's no need to fry this first, then that, or put the meat out and then put it back. save trouble. Not blanching, that is to say, not boiling the meat in water first. I think the meat will not be fresh after being cooked in this way, and all the flavor substances will be cooked away. But if some people are very sensitive to smell, or the quality of the pork is not good enough and the fishy smell is strong, they can choose to blanch it first. Pour cold water into the pot, add ginger slices, rice wine or cooking wine, cook until foam forms, then remove and set aside. (ps. I saw someone complaining on Weibo, saying that if you don’t blanch the pork, it will be too fishy to eat. How could you do that? Hey, I’m speechless. I know several elders who have cooked braised pork for their entire lives without blanch it. The elders told me that the meat will become stale after being soaked. Instead of beating it to death, it’s better to buy a better piece of meat and try it. Of course, I don’t rule out that some people are really too sensitive to the smell, so just blanch it~) Not adding oil means not pouring oil into the pot, but directly heating the pork and frying it, forcing out the oil in the meat, and naturally a lot of oil will flow out. This reduces the greasiness even more. See the specific steps.

Tags

• hot dishes
• dried chili pepper
• light soy sauce
• old soy sauce
• pork belly with skin
• rice wine
• rock sugar
• star anise
• boiling water
• fragrant leaves
• ginger slices

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 Choose pork belly with skin, wash, dry and cut into mahjong-sized pieces. It is recommended to start boiling a pot of water at this time, and use the boiling water to stew the meat later.

2. 2 Heat the pot, add the pork belly directly without pouring oil. Use chopsticks to pull and pull, trying not to overlap, so that each piece of meat is close to the bottom of the pot. It is recommended to use a non-stick pan. After the meat is poured in, don't turn it over in a hurry. Fry over low heat until the oil seeps out and can shake.

3. 3 Keep frying over medium-low heat, and use chopsticks to turn each piece of meat over until the surface is slightly browned and the oil is forced out. There is a very similar process in Western food. This is often done when frying steaks to "brown" the surface of the meat and seal in the juices.

4. 4 Then add rock sugar and stir-fry for a while. Use small pieces of rock sugar, and break large pieces into small pieces first, otherwise it will be very difficult to melt. This is similar to the color of fried sugar, but not the color of fried sugar. If you want to stir-fry the sugar well, take the meat out first and leave the oil in the pot. Add the rock sugar and stir-fry over low heat until it is completely melted and starts to bubble. Then pour the meat back and stir-fry quickly evenly. Be careful not to over-fry it. It is recommended to put the meat back as soon as it melts. The sugar color will become bitter after being fried. I don't fry the sugar like this. I add rock sugar directly when the meat is in the pot. The finished product is still oily and red in color.

5. 5 When the rock sugar is almost melted, add ginger slices, star anise, bay leaves, and dried chili peppers, and stir-fry a few times. Pour a little more rice wine, dark soy sauce, and light soy sauce. Stir-fry until all pieces of meat are browned.

6. 6 Then pour in boiling water, at least to cover the meat. Note that it must be boiling water, not cold water. When hot meat touches cold water, it shrinks rapidly, and the final taste will be bad. Pour in the boiling water, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for at least an hour. Remember to observe the condition of the soup during this period. If there is not enough water and the meat is not crispy, you can add appropriate water, also boiling water.

7. 7 After an hour, taste the saltiness and meaty texture. If you feel it's not enough, continue to stew for a while. But generally it's enough. You can turn to high heat to collect the juice. Be careful to stir when the juice is reduced, the soup will thicken, be careful not to burn the pot. The more sugar you add, the thicker the final soup will be. The soup is almost done and ready to serve! You can sprinkle some sesame seeds to make it more pleasing to the eye.