Melt-in-your-mouth Braised Pork Belly
With the weekend approaching, I got up early and went to the market to grab a piece of black pork belly. Competing with the elderly for 🥩meat is so tough (՞•Ꙫ•՞)ﾉ??? For delicious braised pork, good-quality pork🐷 is a must (●'◡'●). Cooking braised pork is somewhat troublesome, so make a bigger batch over the weekend. Portion and freeze it, so you can reheat it whenever you want to eat. ＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／ I'm such a clever one (｡◕ˇ∀ˇ◕).
Ingredients
Steps
First, rinse the pork belly you bought. Cut it into small pieces, about 2cm if possible, to help render out more fat during frying o( ❛ᴗ❛ )o. (If you prefer larger chunks, cut them larger.) Heat a dry pan on high heat and toss the chopped pork in!
Stir-fry for 5-10 minutes to render out the lard. Be patient and ensure the excess fat is rendered out, turning the pieces until they’re golden brown on all sides ( ･⊝･∞).
Remove the golden brown pork pieces🥩 from the pan. Transfer the rendered lard into a bowl (keep the lard for stir-frying potatoes or vegetables).
Leave two tablespoons of lard in the pan. Heat over low heat 🥵.
Prepare an appropriate amount of yellow rock sugar (granulated sugar works too). Add more if you prefer sweeter, less if you don't.
Pour the rock sugar into the pan. Cook over medium-low heat🔥, stirring continuously with the lard. Don't stop! ✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡
When the sugar melts and turns slightly brown, quickly add back the pork belly. (Be careful not to overcook the sugar into caramel syrup.)
Stir-fry to mix the pork with the sugar syrup evenly, coating every piece with a beautiful caramelized color (♡⌂♡).
Add the prepared scallions, ginger slices, star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves. (Optionally, add dried chili peppers🌶️ – completely optional.)
Toss these seasonings into the pan of caramelized pork belly ٩̋(๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑).
Add 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce. Stir-fry again to coat the pork evenly (it's already looking so delicious!).
Take one can of beer🍺, pour it into the pan, and add a dash of black pepper powder (if you like; optional). (If you don't have beer, substitute with two tablespoons of cooking wine.)
Add a bowl of water to the pot, submerging all the pork pieces🥩. Turn the heat to high🔥🔥🔥 until it boils, then lower to medium-low heat🔥. Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Don’t forget the time! Otherwise, you might end up with a burnt mess 😱.
After 30 minutes, uncover and switch to medium-high heat🔥🔥. Stir-fry continuously to thicken the sauce. Now is the time to taste and check the saltiness. (I don't add extra salt since the soy sauces are quite salty.).
Once the sauce has reduced and thickened, scoop out the fragrant braised pork. It's truly melt-in-your-mouth delicious without being greasy. (My husband starts sneaking bites after only 15 minutes of simmering, stealing pieces here and there until he's almost eaten a small bowl 😂.) Ah, yet another successful day of cooking braised pork! (ෆ ͒•∘̬• ͒)◞